Define Justice
by xTheDoctorsCompanion
Summary: Being the daughter of Jim Gordon, Barbara knew what had to be done to save Gotham and the people who lived there. B.Gordon/J.Blake. TDKR.
1. Day One

Day One:

"Dad, I want you to take care." Barbara Gordon said to her father over the telephone from her downtown apartment. "And heal quickly. I have a feeling that Gotham is going to need you. What with this Bane guy who seems to thing trudging in the sewers will keep cops from getting him."

"Is that what your boyfriend is telling you? That Bane lives in the sewers?" Jim Gordon asked his daughter, taking a sharp breath when the mercenaries name came up.

"Keith isn't telling me anything. He's not even here right now. He has a football match this afternoon." The redhead mumbled, tapping on her counter with a sharpie she was holding. "Why would he know anyway. He's not police force or anything."

"Babs, darling. Can you just promise me you'll stay safe while we solve what's going on?" Her father sounded extremely concerned. The almost 18 year old knew her father well enough to know when he was worried for his daughter. Ever since she moved to downtown Gotham with her football playing boyfriend Keith Taylor for her first year at Gotham University he has been nothing but scared that a criminal with a grudge would find her.

"You know that I will dad. I live right next to the library so you don't have to worry about me travelling to and from work. I'm perfectly safe with Keith around."

"I know sweetheart. Just keep safe. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye daddy. I'll come visit you soon. Love you."

"Love you too."

Barbara was brushing her hair when she felt the ground shake. At first she thought it might have been simply a dump truck of some sort, and continued on with the routine. Then the shaking wouldn't stop. She could hear people in the adjacent apartments screaming and dashing to the basement, but Barbara simply huddled into a corner, waiting for it to end.

It was a unbearable five minutes before Barbara trusted that the shaking had stopped. She made a mad dash for the television, where a live coverage of the football game had come to a stop, and the camera was pointed to the mercenary known as Bane and his fellow criminals. The football stadium had completely collapsed in on itself and in her heart Barbara knew that Keith was dead.

It took the young woman a few minutes to gather the ability to walk out of her apartment. Outside, chunks of the road were missing, where Barbara concurred were from the explosions that had just rocked the city. There were people injured everywhere, and no cops to be found. She overheard someone yell about how every cop in Gotham was trapped in the sewers. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew that Bane would do something such as this. He wanted to create chaos. He wanted the people to take control of their city. Literally.

And that was what scared her.

The apartment building was now a makeshift hospital for the people who were injured in the street. Rescue groups were working on getting citizens out of the deep pits that were scattered across the city. Every hospital in the Gotham area was full to the brim with injured and dying. Bane wanted chaos, and he got it.

Well into the evening, Barbara was making dinner for the people she had helped that were staying in her apartment. There was a young teenager named Rita who broke both of her legs falling off the fire escape of the building, an middle aged man who reminded Barbara of her father who she sincerely hoped was all right, and a pregnant woman who was having contractions.

The power was cutting in an out, which meant that the power workers had left from the plant in fear of what was to happen in the future. The pregnant woman was becoming more erratic, and Barbara feared that she may have to help her deliver in her own apartment.

"Paul, do you mind getting a cold cloth for Kelly's forehead. We need to keep her calm so that she does not go into an early labour. This place is definitely not equipped with anything for a premature baby." Barbara was trying to cook soup for the sick, but because of the power outages the soup would only remain at a lukewarm state.

"Barbara, why don't you take care of Kelly, and I can finish the soup up. I think she would want another woman to help her." Paul said, taking the ladle from Barbara. The redhead smiled gratefully at him and made a mad dash to the bathroom to get supplies.

"Barbara, I think we should get Kelly to a hospital!" Rita called from the living room where her legs were propped up on the table so to not disturb the broken bones. "Her contractions are like, 4 minutes apart."

"Shit. Shit shit shit." Barbara yelled, dropping her things to the ground. She rushed out into the living room where Kelly was beginning to panic. "Look Kelly, we're going to get you to the hospital. Gotham General is just a couple blocks away. Everything is going to be fine."

Barbara dashed out the front door, to across the hall where an elderly man with a wheelchair lived. She explained to him the situation that she was in, and he gladly let her use the chair as long as she brought it back. It took a bit of time to get Kelly and the chair down, because of the short power surges. Eventually they managed to get out on the other side, and Barbara made a mad dash for Gotham General, also keeping in mind that she was pushing around a woman who was going into labour.

"Kelly, you just need to hold on a few more seconds. We're so close."

The brunette was trying her hardest to remain calm, but it was hard knowing your baby was coming two months early, and in the middle of anarchy. Every bump that Barbara would hit pained Kelly a thousand times over. It was only once the had arrived inside the hospital, and was put on a different wheelchair that she had calmed down and told herself that her baby would be fine.

But for Barbara, only time would tell whether everyone would be okay.

A nice nurse had taken Barbara's phone number and said she would call once she found out anything about Kelly and her baby. The teenager thanked the woman, and began the slow walk back to the apartment. Outside, the sun had set, and a dark blanket was put over top of Gotham. Barbara could hear the howls of alarms, and the screams of the crazed and the fearful. She was suddenly reminded of a time when all of this was a daily occurrence. Murder, robbery, rape, it all used to be there, and over the years, she had learned to forget.

But just because she forgot didn't mean anyone else did. The darkness reminded them of that. The darkness unveiled the masked evil that dwelled in the ally's, and the street corner's. What used to be one of the higher class neighbourhoods was now being turned into a war zone.

Barbara was so preoccupied with the flooded emotions that she failed to notice the two men with guns following her closely.


	2. Day Three

Day Three:

Barbara's apartment was empty. Paul had left in search of his family, and Rita's family had come by to pick her up after Barbara had been trying for 48 hours to contact them. For once, Barbara had never been more glad that she was left alone. She had not even had a chance to mourn the death of Keith. She was to busy trying to contact her father, and procuring food to last until Bane is taken down.

"Hey dad, it's Barbara." She said to the answering machine on his cell phone. "I'm getting worried. You haven't called in three days, which is not you. If you manage to get this message, please call me. I'm about to send out a search party."

The commissioner's daughter was getting extremely fidgety. She couldn't stay sitting around for more then five minutes at a time without getting a bit fearful for her father. She finally came to the conclusion that she needed to go outside for some air, and to get some food. It was the beginning of September, but the weather made it feel like mid July. When Barbara stepped outside, she was lucky that she thought to wear shorts and a t-shirt. The humidity hit her like a ton of bricks, knocking the wind out of her.

"Hot, isn't it?" Called a young man from across the street. "Especially if you've been inside for a while."

"Three days. Last time I was outside it was only sixty degrees. I actually had to wear a light sweater." Barbara said, putting her hair in a ponytail.

"Where are you off to? It's getting pretty rowdy out here. Mugging, rape, just like the old days."

Barbara had to shake her head. With all of those newly freed prisoners, the streets had definitely became more like the old Gotham. "I was just going out to find some food. I need to start stocking up if I'm going to survive this."

"I'll come with you, and make sure you get what you need." He said, walking across the street to Barbara. "I'm John by the way. John Blake."

"Barbara Gordon." Barbara said, shaking his hand.

"Are you Commissioner Gordon's daughter by any chance?" He asked her.

"Uh, yeah. You don't, like, work for Bane right?"

"No, actually, I know where your dad is. He's in hiding right now while he heals from the gunshot wounds. I'm the only one who knows where he is. He mentioned where you lived, so I just walked by to see if you were still here."

Barbara sighed in relief. Her father was alive, and healing. She smiled a genuine smile, something that the officer had not seen in 3 days from anyone. He looked at the young woman, taking in her features. Beautiful long red hair, warm blue gray eyes. He knew that Barbara had been adopted by Jim Gordon after she was born, but couldn't help but see similarities between the two individuals. Their warmness and acceptance of individuals were two of them. His heart started beating when he noticed how Barbara's eyes crinkled when she smiled.

"So, accompany me to the nearby Walmart, good Samaritan?" Barbara asked, holding her arm out. John link arms with her and accompanied her to the department store.

"I was always amazed that they built a Walmart here. I mean, it's right in the middle of Gotham, and easily the best target for robbery." John said to Barbara, who was kicking a piece of rubble on the ground.

"I know. My boyfriend Keith used to say the employees would park in the handicapped spots so that they could get to their cars faster." Barbara said, reminding herself that her boyfriend was dead. "Keith was such a funny guy. Played for the Gotham Rogues. Even dad liked him, and he never liked any of the guys I brought home."

"I'm guessing he died the other day?"

Barbara nodded, looking down. It hadn't really hit her yet. She had a feeling it probably wouldn't until Bane was taken down. "I wonder where Batman is." She said suddenly.

John looked at her, trying to at like he didn't know that Bruce Wayne was most likely dead, or Bane took him to some underground lair to die. "Maybe he's lost hope too."

"You should be Batman!" Barbara cried suddenly, running forward to face him. "I mean, you need to gain some muscle mass, and get taller, but you could do it!"

John laughed, looking down. "Maybe not Batman. I could use my real name. Robin."

Barbara thought for a second, then nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Robin has a nice ring to it. It fits in with the whole flying animal thing. BATMAN AND ROBIN!" She called out. Robin echoed into a nearby alley, and John was growing increasingly worried that one of Bane's cronies were listening to their conversation.

"Who should I be?" Barbara said, walking back up to him. "Robin needs a sidekick since Batman isn't around."

John thought for a minute as Barbara still jogged ahead. He couldn't help but look at her legs. "Batgirl." He said, loud enough for only the two of them to hear. "Robin and Batgirl."

Barbara stopped for a second and looked at John pensively. Then she smiled. "Yeah. Batgirl sound awesome. Those criminal are gonna get a nice hard kick in the jaw."

"You're not serious though, are you?" The cop said as they walked up to the deserted store. The windows were completely smashed, and from what the two could tell, most of the place had been completely ransacked.

"Why not? There are no cops to stop us. Gotham needs a new saviour if Batman isn't around anymore."

"No. Do you know how dangerous that would be. It's basically a suicide wish. If Gotham was still just full with petty thieves I would gladly say go right a head. But with someone controlling the city that would kill you if you were caught, you would be stupid."

Barbara knew in her heart that he was right. As she pushed the cart she a procured, and pushed the remainder of food and toiletries into it, she couldn't help but think of how amazing it would be to become Batgirl. She wouldn't be dumb enough to take on Bane by herself, but she could take on the rapists and criminals that stalked the street at night.

"Hey, I just got called by a co-worker. I need to get going. Can you handle getting home by yourself?"

"I think I'll manage. I'll set out now. There isn't much else I can get. As much as we need as much food as we can get, I don't think I'm hungry enough yet for lima beans and canned yams."

John accompanied her as far as the front door, said a quick goodbye, and head out running towards the Eastern part of the city, while Barbara set out West. She could help but keep think about the idea of Batgirl. If Batman were still here, he would not let someone like Barbara fight along side him, but she knew that he wouldn't mind if all she was doing was giving hope for the people of Gotham.

She would get started on a costume right away.

* * *

The apartment building was silent.

Barbara found this somewhat unsettling. There was almost always a baby crying, or the muffled sound of someone in pain. At that very moment, there was nothing.

She loaded the cart into the elevator, and waited patiently as it took the slow ascent to her apartment. The elevator would occasionally jerk, and it was obviously trying to make the long ride. It took twice as long as a normal ride to get all the way up. By then, Barbara had forgotten about the silence in the building. She unlocked her front door and pushed the cart in, closing the door behind her. As she began putting things in the cupboard, she heard a gun click behind her. Turning around swiftly, two men were standing there, hand guns pointed at her.

"Barbara Gordon?" One asked, as if he didn't already know the answer.

"Look, I don't have any money. If you want the food just take whatever you need." Barbara was trying to remain calm without making herself look like she was just plotting a revolution.

"Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon. You're going to need to come with us. Barbara took a sharp breath as the taller one grabbed her by the upper arm.

She knew exactly what was happening.

* * *

She couldn't help but be thankful that one her kidnappers had the audacity to tell his partner not to put her in the trunk of the car, but rather just lay her down on the backseat. As much as she hated hear about "how fucked she is", the trunk would have been more painful, and she wouldn't be able to see the street signs like she could now. The sun was beginning to set over the city.

Pulling up to what used to be city hall, the two men pulled her out, and she we greeted with the screams and protests of the rich and powerful. She swore she could see Quinn Roach, a girl Barbara had gone to school with many years ago, being pulled along with her parents into the building. She heard of the trials. The rich had two choices. Death or Exile. Choose exile, and you still die.

"You don't have to worry about facing Crane, Gordon. You get to meet the big guy."

Barbara closed her eyes as the men dragged her in the opposite way of Quinn Roach, who turned to see the distressed Barbara. Quinn called her name, making the red head jerk up, throwing the guards off balance.

"Quinn, be safe please." Barbara called trying to run up to her. Quinn's parents threw a fit so that Quinn could say good bye to who used to be her best friend in middle school before her mother moved them to Ohio. The two hugged as the men who grabbed Barbara stood up and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her down the long hallway. Quinn was grabbed, and punched across the face, blood staining her blonde hair. Barbara was the last person Quinn saw before the guard pulled out a gun and shot her in the head.


	3. Day Four

Day Four:

It was well past midnight by the time Barbara had been brought forward. She was bruised, bloody and felt like she could curl up into a corner and let herself die. She found it hard to breathe after the larger man had kicked her several times in the chest. She couldn't even move her body to make herself a little more comfortable.

"Did I not tell you to treat her well?" The voice above her said. "Or did you not hear me?"

"Of course we heard you Boss. She was givin' us a hard time, so we though' we'd teach 'er a lesson." Her kidnappers sounded terrified. With every step Bane took, Barbara could almost feel the ground shake beneath her. "We thought she could use one."

"I think you presumed wrong. I do believe she looks like she wants to die." Bane's voice was a lot different than what Barbara had heard on her television that day when Gotham stadium had collapsed. She assumed it was the microphone he used to make his speech to the people. Barbara heard a snap, and one of her captors fell down beside her, but she was in to much pain to care.

"Barsad, I need you to aid Ms. Gordon here. Take her to the archives room."

A strong arm grabbed Barbara, and picked her up. She swore she could hear the man almost groan the having to tend to her. Barbara knew exactly where the archive room was in City Hall. Alongside her job at the public library, Barbara also has to sort through the archives once every three months. It was a massive room with millions of boxes stacked from the floor to the roof. An she knew her way around the room with her eyes closed, better than the archive specialist himself.

"Those guys really did a number on you." The man named Barsad said as he dropped her to the floor. "You must have pissed them off."

"I didn't." Barbara mumbled her hair falling over her eyes. "I was just saying goodbye to a friend. She didn't last long after that. The criminals have a very short fuse."

For a moment Barbara thought that the man had a smile on his face, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone. He wandered off for a moment, and came back with a first aid kit to tend to her cuts. They remained silent while Barsad cleaned the cuts on her arms and legs, and checked to see it any internal damage was done.

It was at the moment when Barsad was turned around to close the kit when Barbara kicked him on the side of the head, throwing him back several feet. She knew that if she did not hurry, she would not have another chance to escape.

Getting to her feet, Barbara bolted for the door, ignoring the pain in her legs, and sides. The hallway from the archives to the main door was long, and treacherous. Barbara was a strong enough runner to make it there without being caught by anyone chasing her, but when she got to the main door there was no telling what the guards may do. But she kept running. By the time she got to the front door her knee's were throbbing, and she felt like she was in a nightmare, where no matter how fast you ran it was never fast enough.

The guards were simple minded people. Barbara recognized them from a couple years ago. Caught under the Dent Act for organized crime, the two men where caught selling methane amphetamines to undercover officers. They were not very bright, and apparently couldn't talk and watch at the same time. Running out the front door, the red head didn't dare look back. She didn't hear anyone, but for all she knew Bane could be lurking in the shadows anywhere.

Running down Main Street, Barbara could feel her legs begin to give out. As she slowed down, she heard someone yell "Hey" from an alley. Barbara looked over to see a woman, maybe a year or two older then her, waving her arm for the girl to hurry up. Barbara limped over to the alley, where the woman escorted her to a small apartment, about the size of a dorm room at Gotham University.

"I saw you run out of City Hall. I assumed you were in trouble." The woman said, locking the door behind her. "Are you?"

Panting, Barbara nodded her head. "Yeah, some guys kidnapped me from my apartment around 8:30. I think it had something to do with my dad."

"Your dad must be royally fucked if you're in trouble for it. Who does he work for?"

"The police. My dad is Commissioner Gordon. And before you say anything, he's disappeared."

The woman stood there for a minute, unable to speak. Barbara assumed it was because she was now harbouring a police officers eldest daughter in her house. Sitting down on a chair, Barbara was almost ready to believe that this kind lady who saved her life was going to kick her out.

"Well…" She said, blinking rapidly. "Since we're obviously going to be living together for a while, I think I should introduce myself. I'm Pamela Isley. You can call me Pam. I study environmentalism at the University."

"Barbara Gordon. I was just about to start up History. But obviously that isn't going to happen right now."

Pamela laughed, and flipped her hair. The same shade of red that Barbara has. Barbara smiled at the similarities between Pamela and herself. "You need a clean up. You're in pretty bad shape. I have some herbal remedies that can heal you up in a jiffy." Pam said, helping Barbara up off the wooden chair.

Barbara had a feeling that the two were going to be very close over the next little while.

"I'm very earth oriented." Pam said, putting Aloe on Barbara's cuts. "I use only natural ingredients, and I've been a vegan since I was 10 years old."

"Wow. That's awesome. You'll get along perfectly in this war." Barbara said, flinching every so often as the gel settled onto her skin. "How long have you been living this close to the police station?"

"Almost a year now, I think. Why do you ask?"

"Do you happen to know an Officer John Blake?" Barbara asked, suddenly quite worried about the officer. She hoped that her kidnappers had not seen her with him, for the sake of both him and her father. Pamela giggled.

"Yeah, I know him. Cute guy. Rookie officer. Lives down in Valhalla Court."

Barbara gasped a bit. "You know where he lives? I have reason to believe my father might be staying with him, and I really want to go see."

Pam smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll take you after we get a couple hours of sleep. It's already 2 am."

Barbara sighed, and grinned. "Thank you so much. I haven't seen my dad since he got shot in the sewers last week. Usually we're very close. When my mom took my siblings and moved to Ohio I stayed behind to live with dad."

"That's a relationship I wish I had with my dad. He and I were never close. He didn't like the whole saving the environment thing that I had going on when I was a teenager."

Barbara looked at Pamela, pity in her stomach. Pamela was a beautiful girl. Very long red hair, green eyes, and a warm smile. She didn't know how anyone could dislike someone so caring and wonderful. "Okay, we're all done." Pam said, clapping her hand together. "I have a bedroom with two beds if you want to sleep in there. Much better than the couch, believe me."

Barbara followed Pamela to the bedroom. It was a bit larger then the main room, with a single bed pushed up against the left and right walls, with two night stands next to them. Pam explained that she often had friends that would get in trouble with drug dealers, and she would let them stay for a night or two. "But I've never had someone over who got into trouble unintentionally like you have."

Barbara climbed under the sheets of the bed, never happier of the warmth. Within moments Barbara had drifted of into a dreamless sleep that was long awaited.

* * *

Sunlight spilled into the room, waking Barbara up. She looked at the clock on the wall. 1:30. She must have been exhausted after her night, which she didn't doubt one bit. "Hey kid, I thought you died."

Pamela was leaning in the doorway across from the bed, with a bowl of salad in her hand which she passed to Barbara. She gladly took it, and devoured the whole thing faster then Pam could get to the kitchen and back with a glass of water. "Someone was hungry. I'm guessing you're ready to visit your dad then." Barbara nodded vigorously, jumping out of bed. "Woah, slow down there. You're not going out dressed like that."

Barbara looked down to see she was still in her shorts and t-shirt. Both were covered in her blood. "Do you have anything I can borrow?"

"I have just the thing, actually." The other red head said, opening up her closet. She pulled out a pair of old jeans, and a shirt that reached to Barbara's elbows. "It's a bit cooler then yesterday, so I can lend you a sweater."

In a matter of minutes, Barbara was dressed in the clothes Pamela had given her, and the two were out the door. Pam had assumed that Barbara should stay out of the public eye for a while, so the two dodged through alleys and back yards for most of the walk.

Valhalla Court was a series of apartment building in a partially gated community. The two girls were able to jump over a fence, onto the main stretch of road. John Blake's apartment was the one farthest from the gate. It reminded Barbara of an apartment building in France, from when she went on a school trip in Junior year. A lot of the names on the buzzers were crossed out or missing, but Blake's was still there. Pressing the button, Barbara hoped to god that the officer did not ignore it.

"Who's there?" The voice box said.

"John, it's Barbara. I need you to open up."

There was a pause, and the buzzer went off to let Barbara into the building. Like Barbara, John's apartment was on the top floor. The hallways were large, and empty. Either the people who lived there had vacated, or locked themselves in their room.

"Barbara, what happened." John said when her opened the front door. "You looked like you were attacked."

"I was. By some dumb petty criminals who are dead now." Barbara said, as Pamela stayed behind her. "I want to see my dad."

John opened up the door all the way, and Barbara was greeted with her father standing in the living room, a look of joy and sadness in his eyes.

"Babs." He said, smiling at her. Barbara let out a strangled cry, and ran into her father's arms. "What happened to you?"

"Some guys knew I was your daughter, and tried to bring me to Bane, but I got away. I'm staying with Pamela."

Jim Gordon looked over at Pamela in recognition, but said nothing. He just rubbed Barbara's back. "I'm so glad to see you, Babs. I knew you would be resourceful in a time like this."

"I learned from the best."

Gordon stifled a laugh as he kissed his daughter on the cheek.

* * *

"You two weren't planning on going back downtown were you?" John said while the four were around the dinner table. It was dinner time so John and Pamela made a vegetarian soup for the group. "It's extremely dangerous."

"We have nowhere else to go. All of Pamela's stuff is at her apartment."

"I don't have anything I need besides clothes." Pamela said, eating a spoonful of soup. "What do you suppose we do?"

"The people who lived next to Blake just left their apartment to find family. They said we could do whatever we wanted with it." Gordon said, looking at his daughter. "You can move in there, that way you don't have to be right in the middle of the chaos."

Pamela and Barbara looked at each other and nodded. "Sounds good to me. I can just run home tomorrow and pack my clothes. I can swing by Barbara's and pick up her stuff too."

"Good enough for me." Barbara said, smiling at her father. No matter what happened in the next months, Barbara was just happy to by with her father again.

**_A/N: WOW. What an eventful chapter._**

**_I was originally going to have a confrontation with Bane and Barbara, but I decided to leave that to a later chapter, with the perfect idea. Instead Barbara has a new friend, and was reunited with her father, and John._**

**_I also made a play list for this story at (slash)natcrock(slash)define-justice. Just replace the dot and the slashes._**

**_Over the next month I will be updating a lot more regularly because I'm participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, which means I have to write 50 000 words in a month. So hopefully you guys don't get sick of the story! Until next time_.**


	4. Day Ten

Day Ten:

Nearly a week had passed without incident for Barbara. She and Pamela got settled into the apartment next to John and Barbara's father, and occasionally went out to find food. Although hoarding was against the new laws, the four adults tried their hardest to keep what they had in case of a city wide shortage.

Barbara's wounds from her kidnapping were beginning to fade. The deeper ones would leave faint scars, but Pamela's herbal remedies worked amazingly well. While the younger red head was often by herself in the apartment, she was growing increasingly bothered by the thought of civilians getting hurt and no one there to protect them. One day when John was helping Barbara organize food in the cupboards, she brought up a thought from a long time ago.

"John, I'm going to become Batgirl." She said, stacking bags of dry rice in the pantry. "That is, when I'm healed."

"You're talking crazy, Barbara." John said, putting down the box of soups. "You could die if you go out there and do something so reckless."

" I know John, but I can't just let people think they've got no one to save them. Batgirl will be a symbol, just like Batman. A symbol that in the darkest of times you need to see a glimmer of hope." Barbara explained, looking John in the eyes. "I'm not dumb enough to take on Bane, or his mercenaries, but I can take down some robbers, rapists. Maybe even stop murder. This would be huge."

John shook his head, trying to find something to tell the 18 year old that would talk her out of it. "But what if you get hurt. You have so many people who love you, like your mom and dad, your siblings, Pamela. Me."

Barbara looked at John and put her hand on his cheek. "I would never let that happen, John. I wont let myself turn into Batman."

John had a look on his face of understanding. Even if he tried to, he knew Barbara would not give up the chance to be a hero. "You know Bruce Wayne was Batman, right?"

Barbara nodded, laughing. "I knew from the first moment I saw Batman that it was Bruce Wayne. They have the same look of apprehension in their eyes."

* * *

Barbara didn't think Lucius Fox would have been home, but he was.

The man had let her into his very large apartment which was also home to several workers of Wayne Enterprises, including the very beautiful Miranda Tate, who was one of the highest paid members of the Enterprises.

"Ms Gordon, what can I do for you?" Fox asked her as he motioned for her to sit as they entered his office.

"Mr Fox, I'm quite aware that you would supply the Batman with supplies back before the Dent Act took effect. I was wondering if you still had access to some of these… artefacts." Barbara asked, putting her purse on her lap.

"It depends on who's asking. Were you planning on using these items in ways that could possibly jeopardize the safety of yourself or the people around you?" The older man asked, folding his hands on his desk.

"I was planning on giving Gotham the feeling of hope again. Any chance you can help?"

"I have just the thing."

Fox stood up and typed a series of codes into his computer, which triggered a secret door behind a bookcase. The room about the size of another apartment, but with no walls. Instead there were dozens of boxes, and machine prototypes on the floor.

"When Bane took over Wayne Enterprises I knew he would locate the weapon room, so I moved some of the more… precious items. I think what we need to start with is a uniform."

Some of the first boxes were placed on a large metal table. The fibres inside were extremely thin, and lightweight. It reminded Barbara of a type of vinyl.

"The fabric is perfect for flexibility. You'd be able to run without worrying about constriction. It is also tear blocked, from things such as rocks and twigs. Chances are you wouldn't make it through a knife or gun."

Barbara followed the man to the next item. "This is what I used to make Batman's cape. A first it is good for jumping roof to roof without being weighed down, and with an electric current it can be put into any form."

"Wow. I can't even imagine what else you have here. I didn't even think you could have fabrics like this. Do you happen to have anything that can stop bullets?"

Fox nodded and showed her a thin vest hanging on a coat hook. "It's very thin so it wouldn't drag you down, but also blocks bullets from a long range of at least ten feet. I'm guessing you're also looking for weapons?"

"Nothing extremely fancy. I'm not lucky enough to have the same strength as Batman. This is kinda a spur of the moment thing, you know?"

"Then follow me to the back here."

* * *

By the time Barbara had managed to get all on these supplies back to the apartment, she was lucky not to have been caught by anyone. She began making the outfit right as she walk through the front door, with Pamela shooting questions about where she was.

"I thought you were taken again. You don't go off for 5 hours without telling anyone. God, it's almost completely dark out. Your dad went off his rockers trying to find out where you had gone."

"Pam, I'm completely fine. Just go tell Dad and John I'm home. I'm trying to finish off this…project."

Pamela rolled her eyes as Barbara cut and sewed her fabrics. In a matter of an hour, Barbara had created the perfect costume. A dress made out of the black vinyl, and cape made out of the forming fabric. Her mask was something Fox had made from an old Batman mask with a few adjustments to the size and look. Barbara grabbed an old pair of boots that the last people had left behind that reached to her mid thigh. On her arms were sleeves made from the extra vinyl fabric.

With a click of her utility belt, Barbara knew that she was ready to head out into the streets of Gotham.

The night was cold and dark. Barbara had begun her night scaling the rooftops near her old building complex. She could tell that some of Bane's goons were inside the building, thinking that she would come home, and they could grab her. Even though she was masked, she still avoided the place like it was the plague.

I was late. Nearly 11 according to the large clock downtown. She told Pamela of her plans, and the humanitarian was not too keen about the idea. Barbara actually had to sneak out while Pamela was making salad for the two of them. Although the older girl would not be pleased when she got back, she knew that in time they'll understand what she needed to do.

The first call for help was just a few minutes later.

Barbara ran over rooftops and looking into a dark alley where a woman and her young son were being cornered by a pair of thugs. Quietly jumping onto the fire escape Barbara raced down, hair flailing in the wind. "Hello boys. I think you should perhaps stop." She said as she got to the ground, and stood up straight. "If you weren't planning on getting hurt."

One of the men looked at his partners and laughed hysterically. "Who do you think you are, girly?"

She stepped into the light so the men could see her. "I'm Batgirl, and I'm not a 'girly'." One of the charged at her with their gun, and she kicked it out of his hand, and punching him in the face. The other one began to attack, and she pulled out a small taser, with which she shot at the man who promptly fell to the ground in agony.

The first man however was not finished. He charged at the red head, and hit her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. He punched her several more times before she took out a blade and stabbed him in the shoulder. He screamed and stumbled backwards and Barbara kicked him in the upper thigh with her heel. Falling down, the man tried to wake up his friend, but gave up when he wouldn't.

"Remember, I'm always watching you. Don't let me catch you bothering anyone again."

The man ran off, forgetting about his partner and the mother and son who sat frightfully in the corner. Barbara smiled at them, and began walking up the fire escape back up to the roof.

"Wait!" The mother called. "I forgot to thank you."

"Don't worry about it. I do this for the people." Barbara said, looking down.

"You're like the Batman!" The little boy cried, smiling. "Papa always told me stories about him. Do you work with Batman? Is he going to save us?"

"I don't know kid, but I'll make sure to keep Gotham safe until he reappears." She said, handing the boy one of her Bat symbols. "Make sure to let people know that help is here."

The thug ran out of the alleyway and down the street. His arm was throbbing from the object lodged in the muscle. He didn't stop until he made it back to city hall where he saw a few of his friends standing guard of the courtroom.

"Fuck guys, you have no idea what just happened." He said, leaning on the wall. "I think Batman has a sidekick, and she's protecting Gotham."

The fatter guard laughed, putting down his gun. "You must have been drinking a lot there, Randy. Talkin' shit like that."

"I'm not lying Frank. She stabbed me, look." Randy said, pointing to his arm. Frank leaned over to get a look at it, and pulled in out swiftly. The robber screamed as the blade came out and was dropped to the floor in a surprise.

"Jesus Frank, what are you drinking?" The lanky guard said, leaning over. Frank pointed to the ground. The three leaned over to look at the blade. Half of it was covered in blood from Randy's arm, and the rest was silver. In the shape of a bat.

"Someone better go tell Bane. We're in for some trouble."

_**A/N: wowie. Two chapters in 24 hours. I'm on a roll. I just wanted to take a second to thank my wonderful reviewers. I got one review that said I took the last chapter a little quickly, and I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to try to go a bit slower so you can all savour Barbara Gordon's badass fighting skills.**_

_**I just have one question. For those of you who know Barbara's story, I was thinking of following somewhat of the plot from The Killing Joke, except without the Joker. I just wanted to know what you all thought.**_

_**Until next chapter,**_

_**xTDC.**_


	5. Day Twelve

_**A/N: Quick note before we start, I just wanted to ask you guys which way this story should go. I've have a handful of requests to do a Bane/Barbara/John story, but I'll only do it if everyone wants it. So if you want, just submit your opinion in the reviews, and I'll think it over.**_

_**This is a filler chapter, but with some lovely development. Hopefully you all like. Next chapter will once again be an action chapter, with another time lapse. ENJOY.**_

Day Twelve:

John Blake watched Barbara Gordon sleep. She had taken a couple of big hits her first night out, and he has been making sure she stayed home until she's properly healed, like she had originally promised.

When Barbara slept it reminded him of a child. Her lips were slightly parted and her hair fell over her face. All he wanted to do was push it out of the way so he could admire how her lips twitched and the occasionally she would mumble incoherent words. Although he didn't want to admit it, after knowing Barbara Gordon for nine days, he was falling in love with her.

He hoped no one else noticed. Pamela would probably tell the Commissioner, who would make sure his daughter didn't get hurt. Of course, he would never hurt her, but what if he died tomorrow? She probably wouldn't be able to cope with losing two people she loved in under two weeks.

But if she died, John knew he would know no feeling other then agony. And that was what scared him so much.

John was finding time going impossibly slow when there was nothing to do. He didn't know how long it would be until Gordon was healed from the gunshot wounds, and that they could start up their revolution. Most of the times he would just walk around the city, seeing if anyone needed help.

It was now mid September, and the fall weather was beginning to kick in. With no electricity or heat in homes most of the time, he was sure people were going to start developing Cabin Fever. But no one wanted to go out into the streets, where anything could happen; day or night. Tree's were changing colors with no tourists to take their pictures, and the sun was out for no one to enjoy it.

"Whatcha doing there, cowboy." Joked Barbara's voice behind him in her kitchen.

"Just thinking." He replied, smiling to her. She nodded a few times, then replied with a comment about how she didn't know he could think, but he was much too distracted by her smile to care.

"You look really out of it today, John. What's up?" She asked, grabbing a few pieces of bread to make a sandwich.

"I'm not out of it." He insisted, taking a sip of water. "I'm just… constricted. We've been inside for so long, I think I might need some fresh air."

Barbara agreed with this statement. Sure, she had been outside only days earlier, but she still felt the effects of the air. Pamela had different sorts of plants in every corner in the room, insisting that they helped with air quality, but it wasn't anything like fresh air.

"If you give me a second to finish," She said taking a bite of the peanut butter sandwich, "I will go with you."

John nodded and went over to his apartment to change into some warmer clothes. Gordon was already up, and making cereal, trying to finish off the last of the milk before it spoiled. The two men acknowledged each other as John went into his room to grab a coat.

"I'm going out for a walk with Barbara." John said as he put on his shoes. "I'll make sure she's back before dark."

"You better. In times like this, darkness is not something to be trifled with." Gordon said, looking through a week old newspaper.

* * *

John waited patiently as Barbara got dressed and brushed her teeth. When the two of them were ready to go, the clock in the hallway read 11:30. Barbara was wearing a simple pair of skinny jeans and a pair of tie up boots with her old high school zipper up sweater. John noticed how the school colour of blue went very well with Barbara's hair.

The streets were bare, and silent. Something that has never happened once in Gotham. There was not a person in sight. Every so often one person would scurry out of an alley, but never would they walk as slow as John and Barbara were. Barbara, although certain it wouldn't happen, would look in every alley to see if Bane was waiting for her to be captured again.

"I don't think he would know to look here." John said, as she looked down an alley when they got downtown. "He probably thinks you went into full hiding."

"Kinda did, didn't I?" She mumbled, looking a bit nervous. She was picking at her nails, and pulling at her hair. As much as he reassured her, he knew that this was not something he would be able to erase from her memory. He wished that he had stayed with her that day when she walked home. It wasn't an urgent call he took. He could have easily made sure she was safe.

"You know," Barbara spoke up suddenly, making John's heart skip a beat. "When I was little, I never would have thought that I could walk the streets of Gotham."

"Me neither. It was always a foreign idea, that citizens could actually feel safe in their own city." John agreed, reminiscing of himself at 16, trying to get though life by himself.

"When I was 10, Harvey Dent held my family hostage. My little brother Jimmy, my sister Sarah, and my Mom. I never called her mom though. To me she was always just Aunt Barb."

"Aunt Barb?"

Barbara stifled a laugh and looked at him. "Long story. Anyway, that year was the worst. Scarecrow, Joker, and I remember my father speaking so highly of Harvey, thinking he was the salvation of Gotham, along side the Batman. Then Harvey pulled that gun out, and grabbed Jimmy. Made my father beg at his feet, and tell Jimmy it was going to be alright, even though it wasn't. Then Batman saved us."

"I looked up to Batman so much that night. He saved my family, and took the blame for something he didn't do, just so that Gotham could be safe again. It was that moment that I wanted to be like Batman. Aunt Barb always told me that I was going to grow out of this fascination, that I needed to be a lady. That I was acting like my father. Then when I was 14 she left him. Took us to Cleveland, but I couldn't stand it there. A week later I was on a train back to Gotham, and I haven't seen her since."

"Why are you telling me this." John asked, noticing that the two of them had completely stopped in the middle of the road.

"Because I know you were wondering why I chose to be Batgirl. You may not be thinking about it, but I see it in your eyes." She replied, putting her hand on his cheek. "Bruce Wayne wanted Batman to be a symbol, and he was a symbol of life to me. Maybe if Batman hadn't saved my family, I wouldn't be here."

"You know, I did wonder at first why you wanted to do such a crazy, life threatening thing, but I knew you had your reasons. Whether or not you shared them or not, I didn't really care."

The two stared at each other in silence, breathing the crisp air in slowly. Barbara could feel her heart hammer in her chest as John grabbed her hand, and leaned in slowly, his lips touching hers.

The kiss was soft, and sweet. Barbara didn't know how to react, with so many conflicting emotions inside her heart. It was only 12 days ago her boyfriend was killed. Of course, the two had only been dating for 3 months before they moved in, but there was something with John she had never felt before. That he wanted to hold her tight , and shield her from the world she had grown so accustomed to fearing.

The two broke apart, and John noticed the tears on Barbara's cheeks. He was going to apologize for the abruptness of his action when she leaned in a hugged him, like a child hugging a saviour. He held her close, rubbing her hair as she cried the tears that have been held in for two agonizing weeks.

Barbara Gordon felt free.

* * *

The two arrived hand in hand to the apartment building just as the sun had set behind Wayne Tower. The power was on, but for how long they would not know, so they began quickly preparing pasta and sauce. Pamela was busy making a vegetarian friendly sauce, and Barbara was in charge of the spaghetti. There was still redness to her cheeks from the bitter air, but it was disappearing slowly with every drink of the hot chocolate that her father had made for everyone.

John wandered off towards the study, where the Commissioner was looking at the small tv on the desk. It was tuned into CNN, which had a special broadcast informing the world of Gotham's state every moment.

"They make it sound better then in really is." John said sitting on a near by chair.

"They have to. A lot of people outside the city have family, or friends that live in Gotham. I was watching a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle who Babs was friends with in high school talking about how all her family lived in Gotham."

"I have something to ask you." John said, sitting at the edge of his seat. "About Barbara."

Jim looked at John suspiciously, taking off his glasses for a moment. "And does she know you're asking about her?"

"I'm sure she knew I would bring it up again." He replied. "When we were walking, she mentioned that she always called her mother Aunt Barb. Why?"

The older man leaned back, and put his glasses back on. "Barbara was not a girl we adopted from the hospital, or an orphanage. My wife, she had an older brother and sister in law. The two were… always in the wrong crowd. One day, the two of them overdosed, leaving their two year old daughter Barbara behind. We took her in, and she took up calling me dad. But her Aunt and her never had that connection, because she reminded her too much of her brother, whom she loved so much."

John was dumbfounded. That Barbara never really had a mother figure growing up. It suddenly made sense why she took Batman to such a liking. Because in her mind if she was saving Gotham, she would be just like her father.

"You two are alike, sir. She is very compassionate about making sure Gotham is safe."

"I know." Jim said, standing up. "I always knew she would be like that. When I first met Batman, 10 years ago, I knew that he would be someone Babs looked up to more than ever."

"Especially in a time like this."


	6. Day Twenty One

Day Twenty One:

A week passed quickly for Barbara. Every night she had been going out and helping citizens of Gotham, and giving them hope that help will be there for every one. But along with Barbara's triumph also came her fear.

Bane was now fully aware that Batgirl existed. Every night she would see dozens of his followers trying to hunt her down. From what she heard, a price like no other was on her head. What it was, she had no idea, but she did not care. Half the people trying to get her wouldn't be able to anyway. Most of them were Mob members who can't run to save their lives.

It was early in the morning when Barbara found out the price on her head must have been big. She was sitting on an apartment building, trying to settle her throbbing legs. She loved looking down from the rooftops because it made her feel like she was on top of the world. This time she looked down, she saw Bane's fellow mercenary Barsad walking the streets with his machine gun pointed to the rooftops. Barbara jumped back onto the roof and ducked over the ledge, but kept her head up enough so that she could see him.

Barbara remembered the night three weeks earlier when she kicked the man in the head with all the force she mustered. She hoped to god that Bane and his men did not know who Batgirl was, for the sake of her life, even though she was just as likely to die whether she was Barbara or Batgirl.

The sun was beginning to come over the city, which meant that all the crime would hide in their buildings, and the streets would be deserted once more. Although with all the training Barbara has been doing over the past week and a half, she still hated the walk back to Valhalla Court. The partially gated area was now always open, and if she was not careful, she had a better chance of being caught by one of the people that lived in the small houses or apartments.

Most days, like today, John would meet Barbara was a change of clothes and a gym bag for her to put the Batgirl costume in, and the two would walk back to their home together.

The days had gotten much lonelier for Barbara however. Pamela had moved back into her small alleyway apartment, and although she lived next to John and her father, they spent most of their days recruiting and planning for a rebellion against Bane. Barbara would often spend her days sleeping, and volunteering at a homeless shelter.

"How was your night?" John asked as Barbara changed into jeans and a knitted sweater.

"Boring for the first little while, but things picked up around two or three, then fell back down." Barbara said, putting the sweater over her head, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Have you heard from Pamela yet? She hasn't been by in days."

John shook his head, as the two started walking back to the apartment. Although Barbara was worried about Pamela, she knew the older girl would stay safe without her.

"I found a way to contact the officers down in the sewers yesterday." John said, making small talk with Barbara. "By putting a note though one of the grates next to the entrance."

"That's good. You can send letters for officer's families and such." Barbara stated, smiling.

"I'm hoping to be able to get them out of there in the next couple of weeks." He said, determination in his voice. Barbara knew that it would be impossible within a couple of weeks to get those men and woman out of the sewers. She felt that it would take months, at least, before they were even able to outsmart any of the guards. Even if they manage to get the cops out of the sewer, there was that matter of the atom bomb that would go off in a couple of months.

When Barbara and John got back to the apartment, Barbara was greeted by her father with a hug, and a cup of coffee.

"Granted, it's a little cold," Gordon said, handing her the cup, "But it's the thought that counts."

"Thanks dad."

John and Gordon left a few minutes later to go into the city for their rebellion meeting, and like every other moment of her life, Barbara Gordon was alone again.

* * *

Barsad knew right from the beginning that Batgirl was on the rooftop that he was standing next to, and he definitely knew it was a good idea to follow her when the sun rose. She walk for an hour to get the outside of Gotham City, all the way to Valhalla Court, and into an alley, where she met a man who had a bag of clothes for her. When she took off her mask, Barsad should have known who she was the whole time.

It only made enough sense that Barbara Gordon was Batgirl.

* * *

Barbara noticed right away that the homeless shelter was less populated than usual. Usually packed to the roof, the home only had one or two hundred people left, huddled together, trying to get warm because of the lack of heat.

"Every one left last night." The head cook said as Barbara grabbed plates to pass along to people. "We're beginning to run out of food so the healthier ones went to find other homes, and the sick ones stayed behind."

"It's sad." Barbara mumbled, shaking her head. "That even in Bane's city, there is still suffering and hunger."

"There will always be suffering and hunger no matter where you go."

Barbara nodded, taking the plates and passing them to some small children who were playing with blocks in the corner of the room. They smiled and thanked her, eating right away. Sure, the non-perishable canned food wasn't very appealing to the eye, but Barbara knew that when you're hungry, it doesn't matter what colour or texture your food is, you just want to eat.

When all the plates where passed out was when Barbara and the cook, a man named Frank Walker, where able to sit down behind the counter and have a break for a few minutes.

"I swear, working in retail is not as hard as what you and I do here." Barbara wearily said, putting her head on Frank's shoulder. Frank was a cooking student at the university, who had gone to the same school as Barbara when she was a Freshman. "If ever we get out of this, I'm going to my fifteen year old sister and telling her never to complain about her job ever again."

"You have a brother too right?" Frank asked her as he took off his apron. "Same age as you. What is he doing?"

Barbara had to think for a moment. She knew Jimmy was accepted to Saint Francis Xavier University in Canada, where her biological father had gone to school. But she didn't know if he had chosen to go there or not. "He's probably at school, worried about me and our father."

Barbara and Frank remained silent for a few minutes, listening to the clinking of forks on the plates. Until a woman screamed, and gunshots went off.

"I'm not here to kill anyone!" The man called, his voice echoing through the huge room. "I'm looking for someone. A girl who often works here as a volunteer. Barbara Gordon!"

Barbara's breath hitched as Frank looked at her confused. He motioned for her to go out the back door while he distracted the man. "Sir, Barbara hasn't been here in a couple days. She's been helping other shelters that were overflowing with people."

The man looked at him, and pointed the gun at his head. "You see, that's where I know you're lying, because my partner and I followed Miss Gordon here earlier."

Barbara was trying to be as quiet as possible walking through the back hallways. She didn't know how many more men could be in the building. It was harder for Barbara to move around in a pair of jeans and blouse. Her hair kept getting in her eyes and sometimes she couldn't see in front of her. Walking out the back door, Barbara went to make a run for it, but didn't make it very far before an arm around her waist pulled her back into the alley.

"Hello again Miss Gordon." Barsad said to her, smiling. "Or should I say Batgirl."

Barbara closed her eyes, and let out a strangled breath. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was going to die.

"You are a very hard girl to find, Miss Gordon." Barsad said as the two walked into city hall, and Barbara was suddenly reminded of when Quinn was killed. "It was simply by luck that I was able to find you."

"You followed me back this morning." Barbara struggled as she was pulled down the hallway by the chains of the handcuffs on her hands. "I should have known you were smarter then all the deadbeat criminals I try to avoid at all costs."

"Those Blackgate prisoners are dumb sacks of shit." The other man said. "We're the people you need to worry about."

"I don't doubt it." The red head breathed almost incoherently. For some reason this walk seemed to go a lot faster then the last one. She gathered it was because she was being compliant now, and just wanted to die as soon as possible, to get it out of the way.

In a state which she is fully conscious, Barbara suddenly remembered the first time she ever walked down the hallway to get to the archives room. A feeling of excitement had been bubbling up inside her, but now it is just a feeling of fear.

The room she was brought to was dark. There were no windows, and the lamps were extremely dim. Most of the lights were coming from the very high tech computers mounted on the wall, that Bane was using to track the whereabouts of his atom bomb.

"We found her, sir." The more verbal man said, making their presence known. It remained silent for a moment, then he turned around and faced Barbara. She swore he looked a lot less menacing then he did on the television. The mask around his face reminded Barbara of the old gas masks that they would get soldiers to wear during the wars. Barbara was often regarded for being tall, but Bane towered over her with simplicity, and two times her muscle size.

"Miss Gordon, how wonderful of you to join us on such short notice." He said in a voice that sent shivers down her spine. "Why don't you come sit down."

The aggressive mercenary went to grab Barbara, but Bane put up his had to stop him. He motioned for Barbara to sit down on her own. She shuffled slowly over to the chair, bolted down in the middle of the room.

"When we brought you in three weeks ago, the plan was not to harm you, I hope you know." Bane said, motioning for the guards to leave the room. "Those men were fools to think I wanted you harmed."

"Then what did you want." Barbara whispered. It was very soft, but she knew perfectly well that he heard her.

"I simply wanted to talk about your father."

She knew it would come to that. Jim Gordon was one of the most wanted men in Gotham. Everyone knew that he alone could bring the city back onto its feet, along with Batgirl.

"But I see there being no need now. You obviously have no idea where he is."

Barbara nodded quickly, but stopped as not to arise suspicion from the much larger man. She knew that one little slip up could mean a broken neck.

"So I believe we must bring this topic to the vigilante know as Batgirl."

The girls heart dropped, and she knew he noticed her breathing stopped. She knew that her time was very limited. She closed her eyes tight, hoping this was simply just a dream.

"I should have known you would be Batgirl, Miss Gordon." He mocked, standing in front of her. "With so much suffering in you past, it was perfect."

"What do you know about my past?"

"Everything. Your mother and fathers negligence. Their substance abuse, their death." The word death slapped Barbara across the face. Although she never really knew her biological parents, it still hurt knowing that they were dead. "I also know about that day in Paris, that only you know about."

Barbara tried her best not to cry at the memory of that fateful day in Paris when she was sixteen years old. Bane wanted to make sure she remembered, because of the emotional torture it would give her. Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

And that was what he wanted.

_**A/N: Well, that took me a while to write, didn't it? Sorry about that. I just started working again on Thursday so I haven't had a lot of time on my hands. I'm going to hopefully have the next chapter up by tomorrow evening, which I will get started on right away. Just so everyone knows, the soundtrack I mention last chapter will be updated every so often with more songs, so if you liked it the first time around, you'll love the new additions. Thanks for reading everyone!**_


	7. Day Twenty Seven

Day Twenty Seven

Six long days Barbara was trapped. Every waking moment she was put through physical and mental torture she didn't think anyone could endure. But not once did she scream, or cry out for her father to help her because she believed the moment she did Bane would be there with his self-righteousness, ready to destroy her.

The one thing that got Barbara through the pain was thinking about John. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and how his lips felt when they kissed. But that made her more and more helpless as she yearned to see him again.

As she lay on the concrete floor of the city hall basement, Barbara looked around at the dozen other people. Either the filthy rich, waiting to die, or people who have crossed Bane, whether it be accidental or purposely. Many of them ranged from young teenagers, to elderly business owners. She found herself befriending a girl a few years younger then her, who had been stealing food from Bane's own personal supplies. Helena Bertinelli was the daughter of a mafia family in Gotham, who was killed by Carmine Falcone ten years earlier. She had since been living in a girls home in the Narrows.

"Do you know how to fight, Helena?" Barbara asked a the 15 year old girl tried to set the bone protruding from Barbara's wrist.

"Of course I do." The black haired girl laughed. "I've lived in the Narrows for my whole life. Its kind of obligatory. Why do you need to know?"

"Because we're going to escape from here, and you're going to need to fight." The red head said, sitting up straight and wincing as the bone popped back into her arm. "But I can't guarantee your safety."

"I can live with that, as long as you and I can get the fuck out of here." Helena fumed, gripping Barbara tightly. She winced as Helena's fingernails dug into her newly fixed wrist.

"Well Helena, if you stop trying to break my wrist, you and I can start planning the escape."

* * *

Bane came back to the hall every day at the same time. One man said he didn't even go anywhere. That he just sat around and watched us try to kill themselves with whatever was lying around.

Whenever new prisoners where brought in the same man told the same story.

That him and another rich woman were caught on the first day of Gotham's reckoning. They were beaten to an inch of their lives, and the woman had been brutally raped by the guards. Left to themselves, the woman tried everything to kill herself. In the end she had used her crucifix to choke herself before anyone came to hurt her again.

Barbara didn't know if this story was true, but she knew for sure that it scared everybody in the room. Helena said that the man was just trying to left everyone know that this prison changes people, and he just wants people to remember not to let anything go to their head.

Bane's favourite torture was mental. He liked to see people's world collapse around them when he divulged there best kept secrets to people they didn't know, and make them feel like every bad thing that ever happened to them or their loved ones was their fault. He liked to remind Barbara about France. He never gave out the details to the people who watched the horrifying scene, but he didn't need to for them to know that their secrets were nothing like this one.

Bane didn't come back at his usual time that night. Barbara and her fellow prisoners, although thankful, wondered why. Bane was not someone who forgot about time or appointments. It had to be a couple hours before the door was opened by the guards, and all 16 prisoners were escorted to the streets of Gotham.

Barbara knew exactly what was happening. They were going to be killed.

A tactic used often by Nazi soldiers, prisoners were forced to stand in a line, and when told, had to run down the street. They were then shot and killed and left to die. Barbara had been one of the most brilliant teenagers in high school when it came to history. It was an execution form used to create a false hope of escaping, but also created a show for people to watch outside their windows. It was a way to show anyone wanting change will end up dead. Everyone knew the chances of them getting out of this alive was impossible.

"Helena, this is our chance." Barbara whispered, leaning over to the girl. "If I get shot, do not turn around. Keep running. Go to Valhalla Court and find my father and John Blake. They'll make sure you're safe."

"You won't get shot, Barbara." Helena said, grabbing hold of Barbara's hand. "Because you're Batgirl, and you can take on anyone and anything."

The prisoners were lined up, with a guard behind everyone. Barsad took great pleasure in being behind Barbara, ready to get back for the kick in the head. Barbara's heart was beating heavily, but she stood still, taking slow breaths, thinking of John's eyes.

The countdown began, and everyone began to run. They had five seconds before they were shot. Barbara and Helena began a mad dash towards the end of the street, not even looking to see how far a head they were from the rest of the group. But Barbara knew that they were well a head.

Then the gunshots started.

The guards enjoyed using fully automatic shotguns to kill the rich. Barbara didn't know why, but she assumed it was because the could shoot the person as many times as they wanted, and could watch as the bullets tore apart their body.

Helena was a few meters in front of Barbara when the first bullets came whizzing by their heads. The two began to run faster and faster as the corner of Main Street and Harvey Dent Street approached. The two girls could hear the cries of people getting shot, and the guards chasing them down the road. As they rounded the corner, the girls picked up speed. It took Barbara several yards to notice that Helena was no longer running with her. She turned around to see Helena laying on the ground, struggling against Bane, who foot was on her chest.

"Miss Gordon. I should have known you would have been trouble from the beginning." He mocked, his voice with almost the tiniest hint of a laugh in it.

Barbara stepped forward balling her fists together. Bane took his foot off of Helena, who gasped for air on the ground. In just a couple steps, Bane was in front of Barbara, casting a shadow over her. A quick punch to the ribs and Barbara was flying back several feet. She got up, and began to fight.

Bane always knew what her next move would be. That was how Barbara was able to fight. What Bane thought was going to be a right hook because a left kick to the head. But as time moved forward, the fight became increasingly more violent. Helena was beginning to regain her strength, while Barbara was getting repeatedly punched in the stomach. Barbara would use discarded items on the ground, like a tree branch the width of her hand, or lead pipes strewn on the ground. It was not long before Barbara realized that Bane's mask was his weakness.

A quick hit in the face with the pipe dislodged the nozzles, making Bane cry out in pain. Barbara was a bit taken aback by the noise. She didn't even know the monster could feel pain. The mask was obviously something that meant life and death to him. A few more hits and a couple more nozzles, Bane was staggering backwards, trying to fix the mask. By then Helena had completely regained mobility, and was able to get up and run with Barbara into an alley and up a fire escape, and onto the roof tops.

It took several miles before the two girls even considered slowing down. City Hall was on the other end of the city to Valhalla Court, and the two still had several hours before they would arrive. They took a seat in a stairwell to an apartment building to take a break and catch their breaths.

"I haven't ran that far and fast since I was eleven and running from Bobby Powers, who wanted to stab me with a piece of metal." Helena panted, gasping for air and inspected the boot shaped bruise on her chest.

"You'd need to run that far to do what I do." Barbara said, putting her bruised and bloodied face against the cold wall. Her stomach was in absolute pain, and she couldn't breath with out feeling one of her ribs poking against her skin.

"Hey Barbara?" Helena said after a few minutes of silence. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go right a head, Helena." Barbara mumbled, wiping the grime off of her face.

"What happened in France that left you so emotionally destroyed?"

Barbara regretted letting Helena ask the question. France was not something that she often thought about, let alone tell anyone. Not every her own father knew about what happened in France.

"Uh, I'd rather not talk about it right now, if that's okay." Barbara said, sounding distant. "It's a really hard subject."

"I'm no doctor here. Hell, I'm only fifteen years old, but if you're not going to tell me, at least tell your dad, or that John guy you told me to find. I think your traumatic past is something that could hold you back in saving Gotham."

Barbara didn't want to admit it, but she knew Helena was right.

It was completely dark when Barbara and Helena arrived at Valhalla.

They could tell the power was on by the light in the top window. It was beginning to rain as Barbara limped up to the building, with Helena as support. The elevator was running particularly slow, but Barbara didn't mind. She was to preoccupied thinking about what her father would do, and what John would say.

The elevator ding brought Barbara back to reality, and the two teenagers walked slowly to the apartment. Helena knocked on the door while Barbara leaned on her. She didn't think anyone would answer so quickly but after a few seconds the door flew open, and Barbara was picked up by her father and Helena was left to escort herself in.

"Oh Barbara, I've been so scared." Gordon said, holding his daughter close to him, who had began to cry. Helena was an expert at repressed feelings to know these were tears of both pain a relief. The younger girl saw the way Barbara and her father were together. She knew that to two where undeniably close, and shared a bond beyond anything else.

Helena looked over to see another person in the kitchen. A young man three or four years than Barbara, he looked at her with relief and thankfulness.

Helena was never good with helping people, but after doing what she did that day, she felt nothing but pure selflessness in her heart.

_**A/N: This is a weird chapter and I don't know if I like it or not…**_

_**I was going to post this yesterday, but I finished work at 7 pm, then my dad picked me up, took me to dinner and to go see the Watch at the movies. So yeah…**_

_**Please let me know what you guys think. Also, it would be awesome if you tell me what I should do in the future chapters. Like, plot wise. Anyway, have a good day, and I'll post in the next day or two. **_


	8. Day Twenty Eight

A/N: Sorry this took so long guys. My computer kept crashing, and I've been working and stuff that I really wish I didn't have to do I have to do. I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who's reviewed, followed and favourite this story. Also to anyone who read to story. Writing this story and having such positive feedback is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Thank you all so much. I'm also under the impression that my play list website isn't showing up. It's called 8 tracks . c o m without the spaces. , then the link on chapter three.

**Day Twenty Eight**

Before the crack of dawn, anything that was needed and transportable was put into backpacks and bags, including canned foods and survival items. John cleaned up Barbara's wounds and set dislocated bones while Helena packed clothes into a hiking backpack. The whole room was hectic until the very last moment when the four of them left the apartment, never to return.

Helena mentioned an old run down area of Gotham right by the shore line where the more well off people used to live. Before the fall of organized crime it was one of the few places thugs and criminals would never venture to because it was so far out of their way. Helena had found the place when she was hiding from the Blackgate prisoners who had been loyalists of her father who betrayed them.

The walk was a couple hours, and although Barbara was able to walk short distances, the longer walk was proving difficult with her injuries. So her father and John took turns carrying her.

The walk was silent. Anything that needed to be said could wait until they got to the home where they would be less likely to run into any of Bane's men who were out searching for them. Helena led the way, through the twists and turns of alleys, making sure they weren't caught on the main road. The air was crisp, and the leaves were beginning to fall off the trees. Barbara took in a deep breath as John carried her. There was a certain way that the air smelled like when they were nearing Halloween that Barbara always liked.

"Can I walk for a bit?" Barbara asked, looking up at John. He nodded and softly stood her up on her feet. She wobbled a bit at first, but caught her balance and was then able to walk along side John, while her father and Helena were farther up, making sure the coast was clear. "It's such a nice morning."

"Fall is my favourite season. I love the cold air, and the colours." He said, looking at the dark blue sky, that was turning lighter by the sun that was rising on the other side of the destroyed bridges.

"Mine too. I love the back to school feeling, and being able to wear a sweater, but you don't necessarily need a jacket." Barbara said, crossing her arms, but making sure not to irritate the wrist that was wrapped up to hide the large chunk that was missing. "I was supposed to be starting university with my boyfriend. He had a football scholarship and played for the Gotham Rogues. I was going to major in History. Work at the library."

"You still can. Once we get Bane, you can go to university, and work at the best library in the whole world."

"Really? I'll probably just end up working at Gotham Public Library for the rest of my life. Or I'll be some lousy high school English teacher."

"You'd be an awesome high school teacher. I'd make sure my kids got you as a teacher." Barbara's cheeks flushed a bright red colour. She tried to hide it by pretending to be colder then she really was, but John had seen her smile.

Her smile made him want to drop everything he was carrying, and kiss her right there for anyone watching to see.

And he didn't care who saw it.

* * *

The house was a normal sized bungalow with fading yellow paint. The windows were partially boarded up, and the wind shutters were falling off the front side. The inside did not look any better. All the furniture had sheets over top with a thick layer of dust covering the sheet. The only running water was freezing cold, and there was no electricity. There were three bedrooms: a room designed for twin girls, a room for a teenaged boy and the master bedroom.

When the got inside and took the sheets off the couch and chairs, Barbara went into the twins room, and laid down on the bed. Her father was in a few moments later, with quilts from the closet. They were a bit musty from their time unused, but she couldn't complain because she was warm.

"You really did scare me, Barbie." He said, pushing a strand of hair out of her eye. She blinked a couple times smirking sadly, putting her hand on the side of his face.

"I beat the shit out of him, dad." She mumbled, laughing. "Just like Batman when he caught the Joker."

Barbara never saw her father cry much. Last night was the first time since her Aunt left with the three kids without so much as a goodbye. But this moment was a different feeling. It was a feeling of pride knowing that he taught his daughter how to fight the way that she did.

"I'm going out for a couple hours with Blake. We're not going to stay out too late. We'll be back before dark tonight." Gordon said, kissing Barbara on the forehead.

"I love you daddy." She said, closing her eyes to sleep away the pain that she felt in her body.

"I love you too, Babs."

Helena was standing outside the room with the bags she had packed with Barbara's clothing. She had seen the moment with the red head and her father, and her throat constrict with sadness. She and her father had never really been close. He had sent her away to boarding school just before he was killed by Carmine Falcone. The two never truly had a chance to know each other.

"Can you make sure she rests today?" Gordon asked as he left the room.

"Of course I can sir. There isn't much to do in the house anyway." Helena said, picking up the bags. He nodded at her and walked down the hallway, where John was ready to head out for the day.

Helena walked into the room quietly, placing the bags next to the other bed. John had mentioned earlier that Barbara had befriended another girl named Pamela, who after a couple of weeks had dropped off the face of the earth. He didn't want to tell Barbara, but she had left one early morning, to join a group of violent protesters, who's specialty was making themselves known.

Helena looked at Barbara sleeping and smiled. She looked a lot happier when she slept then when she was awake. Helena found it increasingly harder to sleep as time went on and she was left to evade criminals more and more often. The only sleep she would get was a two hour nap every so often, but with her guard still up. She didn't remember Gotham during it's worst times, but she knew Barbara did, and that the two hours of sleep she got would be the same amount a worried father would get when his family was in danger.

She left Barbara sleeping, and went to explore the rest of the house. The one room Helena was most shocked about was the twin girl's play room.

It was a room painted a bright shade of pink. It looked like a room from years before she herself had been born. Posters of boy bands and old movies. A box TV sat in the corner with a large video player attached. Next to the TV was a stand with a hundred or so movies from the late 80's and early 90's.

Helena sat on the couch and looked around the room. It was like looking into a time capsule from years and years ago. She couldn't believe that all of this stuff was still there, and for the most part still fully intact.

If ever the power returned, she and Barbara would have to watch a movie together.

* * *

Barbara yawned as she sat up in bed. Her hair was knotted, and her eyes were bloodshot. She had been exhausted beyond belief when she had fallen asleep.

She could hear Helena from down the hallway trying to get the wooden boards off of the windows to let some sunlight into the house. Getting out of bed, Barbara walked out of the room, putting her hair into an elastic. Helena was struggling outside in a large wool sweater and a pair of jeans. Her black hair was in a braid, rested on the front of her shoulder. Opening up the door, Barbara yelled out to the 15 year old.

"Hey Helena, do you need any help?"

The girl looked over to Barbara who was standing in the doorway, slightly bleary eyed. "Nah, I'm almost done anyway. Then we can have a nice, bright living room."

Barbara watched as Helena struggled with the last board for a moment, then with one last pull the board was falling to the ground, and Helena let out of breath of relief that she was finally done. "So when did you wake up?"

"A few minutes ago." Barbara replied, opening the door for Helena. "I wanted to talk to you about some things, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, of course." The two girl sat down on the couch in the living room, and turned to face each other. "What up?"

"When I'm healed, I'm going back into Gotham." Barbara said, putting her hands on her knee's. "I'm going to take Bane down from as far away as possible. I'm going to take down all his men first."

"So you want me to help?"

Barbara smiled and nodded. "I think that was my downfall was that I had no one to back me up on the field. But before we go out, we need to train. You and I. Because I may have been able to get by with just my survival skills, but that wont help when fighting Bane again."

"I agree. But where are you going to learn how to fight?"

"Back when I was little, I used to take all different forms of martial arts. My dad just wanted me to know how to defend myself in case it came to it. Mister Kim is the best martial artist in Gotham. I was thinking of trying to find him and having him teach us more advanced moves."

Helena thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "I think that may just work."

"Well lets hope it does, because I don't get as many weapons as Batman does."

By sundown John and Gordon had gotten back, and the power was on for a few hours. This gave Barbara a chance to make a warm dinner for once, even if it was just canned Italian wedding soup.

Having the heat on in the house was a nice change, but they had to keep the lights off to make sure no one suspected that anyone was living in a home that the day before was abandoned. Barbara sat in candlelight in the bedroom, reading a book the she had never heard of. Her father and Helena had gone out to get some more medical supplies, so John and her were the only ones in the house.

"Is it a good book?" John asked as he leaned in the doorway. Barbara shook her head and put it on the bedside table.

"It's a little kids book about fairies and unicorns. I'm not really into that sort of thing."

John laughed and walked into the room, sitting next to Barbara on her bed. "I thought about you all the time after you were taken. About that day that we kissed."

"The only thing that got me through the days was thinking of you, and my dad." She said truthfully. John looked at her for a moment, then in the blink of an eye they were kissing. It wasn't a soft kiss like the first time. It was a passionate kiss that made Barbara feel whole inside.

"I love you." Barbara mumbled in between breaths.

John put his hands through Barbara's hair, the hair that he loved so much. He wanted nothing more then to stay there all night, and to be with Barbara and keep her safe from everything.

"I love you too."


	9. Day Forty

Day Forty

The second week of October went just a quickly as the weeks prior. Barbara had found the house along the shore increasingly hard to stay inside as she healed so she and Helena had located Jae Kim a week earlier, a middle aged man with grey hair who was Gotham's best trained Martial Artist. Barbara introduced herself, and mentioned that he once taught her when she was a little girl. He patted her on the back, and laughed, saying that he remembered exactly who she was.

Helena had begun her training first, while Barbara watched and took mental notes on fighting skills. Although she didn't like sitting around, she knew that to go out and take on Bane and his men, she had to be in top shape, and on top of her game. Helena thrived in martial arts, even though she had never received training before.

When Barbara had fully healed, her training was much more intense, because of her need to build muscle mass and be able to fight through the pain of any injury that had not healed. Some nights, Barbara would come home in even more pain then the night before, but John was there to make her forget her pain, and smile.

Although she didn't want it, today would be the last day that she and Helena would be able to go to train at Mr. Kim's apartment, because of the recent number of raids in the neighbourhood. Everyday, at least three or four homes in the area had been broken into by criminals and Bane's guards on the lookout of illegal activities. Although at one time Barbara would have been proud to be Gotham's second most wanted (right next to Batman) she didn't want to take any risks in the time that they were living in.

Her day began with typical exercises. Running, punching, kicking then evolved into the daily training. Mr Kim would often have Helena and Barbara fight each other so that they got the proper training that would be require to fight any other individual. He would coach and criticize from the side lines, and would only interfere if Barbara or Helena caused any sort of irreparable damage to each other. Even though Barbara would often leave the apartment in a fit of anger or frustration towards the man, she couldn't help but be beyond grateful.

"You've been such a great help, sir." Barbara told the man just as she and Helena were about to leave for the last time. "I don't think I would be able to take on anyone without your help."

"Young Barbara, you must remember to control your anger. The best way to get the results you want is to come to terms with any sort on memory that is holding you back." Barbara stared at the man, as if he had been reading her mind. "Oh young child, I may not know what you have been though in your past, but you fight like you have something to hide. If you come to terms with this moment, you will become a warrior beyond any other,"

Barbara bowed to the man, thanking him again for giving up his time to make sure that he she knew how to protect herself, and left with Helena to walk back towards the house.

"What did he mean Barbara, coming to terms with your past?" Helena asked, putting her arms around her body to keep the heat from escaping. Barbara looked at her feet then over to Helena and breathed deeply.

"I think it means that I need to tell someone about what happened in Paris."

* * *

They didn't go home after their training.

Instead Barbara showed Helena towards her old high school. It was a building near the edge of Gotham, three floors high. It was the largest high school in the area, but also the least populated.

"No one could get into North Gotham High School." Barbara explained to Helena. "It was a school for gifted children, in a way. Most graduates go on to become Doctors, writers, pro athletes, and so on."

The school had been broken into and vandalized beyond recognition. Many classrooms were made into living quarters for the homeless, and also a hide out for the brilliantly rich. Barbara showed the young teenager the pictures hanging on the wall, including her own graduation picture. They walk along as Barbara told stories to Helena about her years on the track team, and playing varsity volleyball. As they came up to the main office, Barbara stopped and motioned to a glass case: a memorial for a 17 year old girl named Abigail Young.

"Abby and I were really good friends." Barbara explained, pushing her hair out of her face. "We played volleyball together, and had American History together. We went to Europe together two years ago. She was a stunning girl. Beautiful blonde hair, and the kindest smile you could ever see."

"When we were in Europe, the teachers would let us wander off on our own to look at shops, or take pictures. Abby and I loved to take pictures of the old buildings and the landmarks. This day wasn't a nice one. It was raining, and cold. But we were in Paris, so we didn't really care."

Helena was watching Barbara as she spoke. She knew that just thinking about this day was making her emotions run high. Her eyes were wide, and watered over. Barbara had mention that she never was someone who cried over the smallest of things, that was why she never cried from the pain she would endure while training.

"We were walking around the Latin district, taking photos of the Notre Dame cathedral that was just down the street. The guy came up to us and said that if we followed him, he could show us the perfect view of the church, and take a picture of us together. I had a feeling we shouldn't follow him, but we were naïve tourists. How would we know any different? We followed him, and he got us alone. He had a friend, who grabbed Abby. They turned to me and said that I had a choice. Either I run away, or I suffer the same fate as Abby. She yelled at me to run, and I did. I ran to the church, and yelled for help. I tried to get the attention of anyone nearby. By the time the chaperones had came with a police officer, Abby had been killed."

"The way it happened was awful. I wasn't supposed to know, but I found out anyway. She was raped, stabbed thirteen times, and left to die. But she didn't die right away. She was left alone, in agony, fear and believed that her friend had abandoned her. And I have that on my conscience at all times. That's why I can't fight like you. Because I always have that lingering thought in the back of my head that I will always just run away from the problem."

Barbara was crying now, on her knees in front of the pictures, and articles of her friend. Helena too felt tears on her cheeks. Never in her life could she imagine what sort of emotional pain Barbara had gone though in her day to day life. That every time she smiled, she knew in the back of her mind that her best friend had been murdered.

Helena crouched down, and hugged Barbara close to her while the red head sobbed onto her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault you know. You did what Abby wanted you to do, and even though she had to endure what she did, she was happy to know that her best friend was safe and getting help. She died protecting you."

Even though she still was crying, Barbara felt something different inside. She felt like the weight of every thing she had ever done was lifted off of her shoulders, and she was left to stand, and become the person she had so longed to be.

The two girls arrived home as the sky began to turn a shade of orange, and was greeted with the smell of a fire in the fireplace. John had been making some sort of vegetable soup made from some of the cans they had brought.

It was a quiet dinner. Barbara sat of the couch with her father, head on his shoulder staring at the fire while her soup cooled down. The power was out so the four people we dressed in heavy sweaters and jeans, trying there best to get warm from the fire.

After dinner was finished, and the dishes were cleaned and put away, everyone went their separate ways. But Barbara and John stayed in the living room, cuddled up on the couch.

"You seem different today." John said, playing with her hair. "What happened while you were out?"

Barbara sighed. "I came to terms with something from my past, and I think that it was what made me lose all the time."

"Really? What sort of past?"

"Maybe I'll tell you one day, but maybe right now we can just stay here together without having to thing about the past?"

John nodded, and kissed Barbara on the forehead. She smiled, and stared into the fire. She knew that tomorrow night, when she and Helena go into the streets of Gotham together, that everything was going to change for the better.

**A/N: A shorter chapter, but it answered a question that I'm sure many people were wondering about. I've been to Paris myself, and I've been to the Latin district, so I know the setting a bit more. A friend and I were asked several times to follow someone, but we didn't listen. I guess Abby's murder was what I believed would have happened if we did follow any creepy French man.**

**Question of the Day: Do you want Barbara and Helena to take on any Arkham patients when they are out on their nightly crusades? If so, which ones?**

**Thanks for the read, reviews, favourites and follows. You're all extraordinary people. Now wish me luck because I have my drivers test Tuesday afternoon.**


	10. Day Forty One

**Day Forty One**

Barbara couldn't sleep that night. She found any dreams that she had were plagued by the taunting voice of Bane, and even when she simply closed her eyes she saw his face. Although these nightmares were not anything new, Barbara had a feeling that they would disappear after she began to face the monster terrorizing the life of not only herself, but of the millions who live in the city.

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, a new day dawned. It was overcast and cold. The date was October 15th, and it was Barbara's 18th birthday, a day that she always thought would be a lot happier then it was at that moment. She hoped that her father didn't remember the date. She didn't want him to make a big deal about how she was now officially an adult. She also didn't want people to sing Happy Birthday to her, or treat her any differently then they normally would.

But most of all, she didn't want them to stop her from going out that night with Helena and saving Gotham. The only thing that would be different that day would be that instead of fighting as a 17 year old, she would be a year older.

After the sun rose over the horizon, Barbara went inside tired, but ready to face whatever the day brought. Helena was working hard in her room designing the costume that she would wear that night. Helena had joked at first that she should wear something that showed off her abs, but with Barbara's disapproval she decided just to make a full body suit and a mask, to make sure her identity did not get out like Barbara's did.

Barbara had supplied Helena with a weapon that Lucius Fox had given her that day that he helped her a month and a half earlier. It was a medium sized crossbow, that if used correctly would prove to be extremely lethal. Helena was very grateful that Barbara would give up on of her weapons, but the other girl would not have let her go out without one. Barbara was working on fashioning herself a bow staff, but finding it increasingly difficult without any sort of unbreakable materials around, so for the time being, or at least until she could somehow see Lucius again, it was just herself and her bat knives.

At breakfast, Barbara's father mentioned that he and John had found a good amount of police officers and swat members that would help with revolting, including Deputy Commissioner Foley, who even though had a family to risk did not mind helping. They had also found a way to communicate with some special ops agents outside of Gotham City and were working on a way for them to get in and help with evacuating some people.

For now, no one knew that it was Barbara's birthday, and she was happy about it.

* * *

Barbara spent most of the morning in the basement practicing her martial arts. She found that ever since she had gotten her past off of her chest she had been feeling lighter and could fight a lot easier, and without having to put much thought into it. Helena was in their room trying to practice using the crossbow, which was a lot harder then she had originally thought. Especially when it came to reloading the weapon. Barbara believed that the two of them were not to kill anyone, but rather use the men to intimidate the people around them, which was why Helena had to work on her aim to make sure she didn't accidentally shoot someone in the head.

At lunch time the two girls met in the kitchen and ate leftover soup from the night before, and talked about the night ahead of them, and where they would strike first. They decided that they would begin on the outside of Gotham and gradually get closer to the center of the city. The men farther out were not as smart or resourceful as the ones on the inside, so it would be easier to intimidate them, and let them set up the rumour of Huntress and Batgirl. That would surly piss Bane off more than he already was.

"I still say we take 'em from the inside." Helena said, eating a spoonful of the soup. "Dress up like merces, and blow the place to shit."

"Helena, that may work for you, but Bane knows who I am. In a split second he would recognize me, and kill me then and there." Barbara replied, coming to realization about the predicament she was in. "That's why we have to be extra careful about how we execute this plan. And we have to make sure we don't get followed like I did last time."

"I say instead of coming here first thing in the morning, we set up a place with extra clothes and such, so we can get changed before coming home."

"Really? And where should this hideout be?"

"The clock tower."

The clock tower in Gotham was located in the church district closer to the main bridge out of Gotham. It was tall, and broken. No one thought to fix it up because of the high cost of maintenance and the bills to even fix it up. Inside the clock was a large area where they would store old city related items, like the decorations for the annual Christmas parade. It was the best place for two vigilantes to hide out.

"Helena, I think we may have ourselves a hideout." Barbara laughed excitedly, putting her bowl next to her on the table and crossing her legs. "We can bring some of out clothes, and things that we would need while we hid."

"I think the first thing we would need is lots of bottled water. Its hard enough living on soup and partially stale sandwiches all the time, but ending a night without any water would kill us."

"You're right." Barbara admitted. "We have to start stocking up anyway. Without any heat, and November coming up the pipes will start freezing. There'll be nothing to drink except what comes into Gotham from the outside, and the criminals get first dibs anyway."

"I say we go out, find as many water bottles as possible, and start collecting them. All the shit head murderers may get free water first, but they sure as hell aren't recycling the bottles."

Barbara and Helena got changed into warmer clothes, and went out to find resources. Because Barbara was so recognized, she had to wear a hat and tuck her hair underneath. Helena didn't have to hide as much as Barbara did, so she braided her hair and tucked it in the back of her jacket.

The two girls decided to go their separate ways, then meet back up around dinner time, when it began to get dark. Barbara went along the outside areas, while Helena took the downtown area. The streets were completely deserted, with not a single person in sight. A lot of citizens had taken refuge in larger homes, so that they didn't have to be at a higher risk. Many of the tourists who had been in Gotham at the time the bridges were blown up were hiding out with anyone who knew Gotham.

Barbara could just imagine what sort of fear that they were feeling. Being gone from their family for such a long time.

She walked along the sidewalk, picking up any water bottle she could find, and put it in the backpack she brought along. Occasionally she would hear a scuffle in an alleyway, but never thought twice about it, seeing as it was probably someone just trying to keep safe or warm. It was only when someone started calling out to her when she started to panic.

"Hey baby, where you off to?" A gruff voice called behind her. There was a time when sticking to the main road would have proven to reduce your chances of being the next statistic, but in Bane's city, it didn't matter where you were. "Stop running away girl!"

Barbara began picking up her pace, and trying to find the closest place to hideout until the guy quit following her. He was a large man, who Barbara could easily outrun. She recognized the man from the newspaper when she was 13 years old. A serial rapist who was put away for life in Blackgate prison because the mob would use him as a means of intimidation to those who didn't pay them back.

Barbara was one of those people who at one time could have been easily intimidated at the thought of being cornered by a rapist in Gotham City. But it was no longer something that she got scared by, which was why she walked down the closest alleyway to her, and let him follow her.

"Come on sweetheart, there is really no use to run -" He turned into the alleyway, to see that she was gone. In a state of confusion, he walked in slowly only to hear running, jumping and then he was head first into a brick wall.

"You think you can just follow me around, and get what you want?" Barbara growled, hitting his head on the wall. "That I'm not going to fight back? Because you'll be surprised."

She kneed him in the groin and let him fall to the ground. He writhed in pain, as Barbara kicked him in the gut. "I swear to god, if I find out you harmed any other person who walks on these streets, I will find you, and I will let my not so forgiving friend take care of you."

"Oh yeah, and what she gonna do?" He yelled, trying to sound like he wasn't in so much pain.

"I don't know, either kill you or make sure you never get to use that thing ever again."

The man groaned and laid down on the gravel, scared of what would happen next. Barbara shook her head unimpressed and walked out of the alley to continue on with her journey. Halfway down the road, she looked up at the sky to see a little bit of sunlight peek through the clouds. Smiling sadly, she put on both straps to her backpack.

"I did that for you, Abby."

* * *

As dark began to settle in, the two girls met up at the house, and went inside to begin filling up the bottles. On any given day, Barbara nor Helena would have trusted the water from the tap. Ever since the incident with Dr. Crane and the drugs in the water lines, nearly half the people of Gotham didn't drink tap water anymore, but in a time like this no one could be picky.

When everyone was home, they gathered around for dinner. John had a big smile on his face as he walked in with a box in his hands

"I was wandering around Gotham today and I ran into an old neighbour who had a pizza restaurant. He was trying to get rid of his ingredients before they started to go bad, so he gladly made us one to cook here." Barbara and Helena cried out in joy, and Barbara hugged John tightly. "I thought that we could have a good meal for one night instead of eating canned soup for the rest of our lives."

It took a while to cook the pizza over top of the fireplace, seeing that all the had to use was a large cooking sheet. But when the pizza was done, everyone was happy. For the first night in a long time, everyone was happy. Stories were told back and forth, and everyone was laughing.

"Barbara is going to her first day of kindergarten, and she is absolutely terrified about having to meet new people. She is clinging to my leg and crying, not wanting to leave. But I had to go into work, so I had to leave her there with the teacher. When I can back to pick her up that afternoon, she befriended every kid in the class."

Barbara was laughing at the thought of her younger self. Helena was in tears at the thought of Barbara not wanting to go to school. "I didn't like being by myself. Jimmy wasn't in the same class as me, and everyone was bigger."

Time passed and everyone had gone off to their respective rooms to get ready for the night. By 11, Barbara and Helena were fully dressed, and climbing out the side window.

"Hey!" Barbara heard John call from the bedroom door. "Be careful tonight."

"I will John." She said, putting her hand on his cheek. A quick kiss goodbye, and Barbara was out the window, and following Helena down the road.

It was an exhilarating feeling to be back as Batgirl. Simply wearing the mask made Barbara feel like she was making a difference in the fallen city. She caught herself wondering if this was how Batman felt when he was saving lives. Barbara smiled at the thought that maybe one day Batman would come back and the two of them could fight side by side.

"Get your head out of the clouds there, girl." Helena yelled, as they jumped over rooftops. "If you're not careful someone will shoot you in the head"

"Thank god I have someone like you to back me up, right?" Barbara said, landing on her feet. It was a quiet night on the outside of the city. The first person that the girls had found didn't appear until nearly midnight. He was a tall, lanky man with a sub-machine gun. The two girls quietly jumped down from the roof, and hid in the darkness.

"The key is intimidation." Barbara whispered to Helena quietly. "We make the guy seem like we're always watching him, and his friends. He warns them, and they spread the word around like wildfire.

Helena took the first hit: a punch to the throat. He fell over wheezing, eyes tearing over from lack of oxygen. Barbara then snatched his gun, and threw it far away from them. "Hi there." Helena said, standing over top of them. "I think we need to have a little chat."

The man was whimpering on the ground, and it was suddenly very obvious that he was only in this for the rewards. "We aren't going to kill you." Barbara said, walking up next to Helena. "Instead, you're going to tell us everything you know about Bane's plans for Gotham."

"I don't know anything." The man cried. "I'm just patrol!"

Barbara looked at Helena and nodded. Helena kicked the man onto his back, and put her foot on his chest. "I'll give you five seconds, and then my heel will be somewhere where you don't want it."

"OKAY!" He yelled. "Bane is planning on blowing up Gotham. The bomb is only going to last until December, then it'll blow, whether the trigger man pushes the button or not!"

The two girls looked at each other in the eyes, and Helena took her foot off the man. "You spread the word, shit head. Tell your friends about Huntress and Batgirl. The Birds of Prey."

The man ran off terrified, forgetting about his discarded gun. Helena laughed at his fear, and looked at a smiling Barbara. "What are you so happy about, Babs."

"The Birds of Prey. Has a nice ring to it."

**A/N: So my laptop is still broken, and I have to write this on my family's computer downstairs. Lets just say it is a very popular destination.**

**Lets have a warm welcome back to Batgirl! Barbara seems to be quiet happy about this development, and I am too. Thanks again to all my reviewers, favorite/followers and everyone that reads the story. **

_**QOTD: What kind of music do you like listening to when you write?**_

**I absolutely love listening to the soundtracks from Crash and Gattaca. Both are very Batgirl-esque soundtracks. I included a song from both movies in the soundtrack, **_**A Really Good Cloak**_** and **_**The Departure. **_

**Until next time, **

**xTDC**


	11. Day Forty Two

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in this chapter. I've been working 40 hour weeks for the past month, and it's been so exhausting, I just couldn't write without falling asleep. But I had wonderful motivation from highlander348 and kindleflame5 who kept making sure I was writing. Hope you both enjoy this chapter, and same with all my other readers.**

Day Forty Two

Barbara sat atop the clock tower, staring at the distant lights of a city far off from Gotham. The thought that there were people safe in their homes away from the hell that she was living in gave her a feeling of peace. Helena was not back at the tower, but rather executing a plan that she had come up with while one of the men earlier had tried to run away, and Helena had to shoot him in the back of the leg. Barbara was not an advocate for violence, but whatever Helena's idea was, she assured the older girl that it was not going to kill the man, but rather make him a little ill. She did however say when Bane found him he would probably be dead.

It was nearly 3 am, and Barbara was bundled up in a wool sweater and an extra thick blanket she had brought along from the house. She was drinking one of the bottle of water she brought along to the clock tower, and listened to the bitter wind howl. It was nearly half way through October, and usually by this time Barbara was already getting ready for Halloween with her friends. Halloween was the red heads favourite holiday because you can dress up as something you're not. When she was younger, she would dress up as a new super hero every year. One year she dressed up as Metropolis' own superhero Superman. She would jump off of low platforms and pretend that she could fly. Her father always used to say that she would grow up to save the city. She smirked at the truthfulness of the statement.

"Yo, nice setup you got here." Helena said behind Barbara, sitting next to her. "I got the job done."

"What did you do anyway?" Barbara asked, giving Helena some of the warm blanket. Helena took the blanket and put it around her shoulders, smiling at the red head.

"Oh you know, I just left him hanging. On a light pole."

Barbara coughed up the water she had been sipping, and tried to gain her breath back. "Oh my god Helena. You're crazy!"

"I'm putting us on the radar. First guy we caught goes to his little buddies, second guy advises Bane and his close group of followers. If we do this every night, all over the city, then the citizens of Gotham are going to be more inclined to rise up themselves knowing they aren't the only ones."

Barbara looked at Helena with understanding, smirking a bit. "I think you may be right. But I can't do heavy lifting. So as long as you throw the guys up there, you can keep doing what you want."

Helena beamed at Barbara's compliment. Looking out into the city, Helena breathed deeply, taking in the scent of fall. But with the fall came winter soon after. Gotham winters did not produce a lot of snow most of the time, but it was always bitterly cold by mid-December. That was when people were going to start wanting the heat in their homes, and if the didn't get it, then the casualties were going to rise. "What are we going to do when winter comes along?" She asked, not looking over at Barbara.

"I don't know." She whispered truthfully. "I think we'll be okay at the house. It's just everyone else I'm worried about. Especially without the food that everyone needs."

Helena breathed slowly. Out in the city were millions of men, woman and children without any electricity or heat, trying to huddle close for some sort of relief. She could only begin to imagine the pain that these people were going through. "I know it's a bit early, but do you think we could start heading back to the house? I just want to sleep right now."

Barbara looked Helena curiously, but said nothing, and nodded. The two girls stood up and began gathering their belongings, and bringing them inside the clock tower where thousands of boxes had been pushed away and a small sitting area had been formed with old cushions from abandoned homes. Barbara tossed the blanket onto the floor and put her Batgirl costume in an empty box while Helena changed into warm clothes for the walk home.

"We're not going to be finishing this earlier for much longer." Barbara said, tying up her hair. Helena nodded in agreement, pulling on a pair of jeans. "With this brilliant idea of yours, we could be up till sunrise for all we know."

"We spend all that time with those men, only to just leave them hanging."

* * *

The two girls walked at a quick pace to get home. They were looking in every alley and over their shoulders every few seconds to make sure that they were not being followed. Barbara had a feeling that even though this was their first night out together that the feeling of being followed would never go away. Half the men on the street probably haven't seen a girl walking in their direction for months and would spring at any opportunity to get any sort of release.

Growing up as the niece and adopted daughter of a Police Sergeant, Barbara knew how Gotham had worked. Even after the Dent Act had been passed and organized crime had become nothing but a memory, she was not aloud out after dark, and could only go out at night as long as she was with a friend, and had a bottle of pepper spray in in bag. Even though years have passed, it was times like these she still wished she could follow her father's house hold rules.

"You're in deep thought, Babs." Helena said snapping her fingers in front of Barbara's face. The older girl jolted back into reality and looked at the girl a few inches shorter then her. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just something from a long time ago." Barbara shrugged. "Did you ever think you would have rules for going out with friends at night when you were little?"

"No. My parents were killed when I was five. I lived in Saint Jude's Home for Girls, right smack in the middle of the Narrows. The only rule I had growing up was don't look away from your dinner or it might not be there when you look back."

Barbara knew she was lucky about how she was raised. There were a little less then half of the population of Gotham that could afford everything that she grew up with, but not once did she think that she would ever meet someone from the lower percentage. But Helena was not the type of person to hold a grudge against the wealthy and middle class people of the city. Not like Bane does. The only thing she wish was different was that the people of Gotham were more willing to help people like Helena and the homeless who she had once been surrounded by.

"When I was in my early teens my friends always wanted to go to the movies, or go shopping but my curfew was when the street lights came on. The only was I could talk my father into letting me go out was if I carried a way to defend myself. But I always knew that he wasn't comfortable with me going out. After he and Barb got divorced I started staying home more and more, so that he didn't have to be alone. But even he stopped coming home after the street lights came on."

"It's funny how that works, isn't it?" Helena said, smirk unnoticed by Barbara. "But I can tell you and your dad are close. It's something I wouldn't have minded having if my dad was still here."

"Well, Jim Gordon isn't my real father. He was my uncle. Barb was my aunt. My biological parents were coke heads, who overdosed when I was a baby. They took me in, and Uncle Jim became Dad. But Aunt Barb just stayed the same."

"You didn't have that same connection with her. I can only imagine what that must have been like."

Barbara shook her head. "Don't try to. It wasn't really as bad as someone would think. I just didn't associate with her after the divorce. I stayed with the only person who ever loved me so unconditionally it hurt sometimes."

Helena smiled at what Barbara shared with her. The young girl never had a friend like Barbara before. She was often left alone when she lived at Saint Jude's, and something like this made her feel really special. She was so caught up in thinking about what Barbara shared with her that she almost failed to realize the two girls were coming up to the house.

"Home sweet home." Barbara whispered, as she quietly jumped in through the bedroom window. The room was dark, except for the lantern that was left on Helena's bedside table by John, who was for some reason fast asleep on Barbara's bed.

"I'll leave you two alone." Helena said, winking at the older girl. Barbara smirked, and climbed under the sheet of her bed. John opened his eyes to see a smiling Barbara looking at him.

"Hey you." Barbara said, laughing quietly. John put her hand on her cheek, returning the same gesture she had done a few hours before. The two remained still for a few moments, breathing in the feeling of knowing that another day had passed without either of them dying.

* * *

Barbara woke up the next morning with the sun shining in through her window, and the smell of pancakes. The power was on in the house, so Helena was making breakfast in the kitchen with John and her father sitting patiently at the table watching the news on a small TV. The reporter was talking about the crisis, and how they were entering the 42nd day of seclusion, and that thy were trying their best to help the citizen's of Gotham.

"Help. My ass." Helena said, flipping some pancakes on the frying pan. "The only this this is helping is out likeliness to get the fuck out of America."

"What a great idea Helena!" John said enthusiastically, taking a drink of his coffee. "I heard that Canada was lovely this time of year!" 1

Barbara stifled a laugh as she sat down next to her father. She looked over at John from across the table and lightly kicked him in the knee, smiling as he kicked back. Jim remained oblivious to the flirting, and was intensely staring at the television where CNN was interviewing families of people trapped in Gotham. "Do you think Jimmy and Sarah are wondering about us?" Barbara asked her father, looking at the TV too.

"I think they know we'll make it out of this" Jim said, looking at his daughter. She was smiling sadly, secretly wishing she could see the rest of her family again. Although she lived four years without seeing them, she knew that after this was all over, she would have a newfound relationship with her adopted siblings, and even hopefully the woman she had been named after.

Helena finished up the pancakes and passed them out to everyone, and sat down on top of the counter. Breakfast was relatively silent that morning, besides the clang of forks on the dishes. After ten minutes, everyone dispersed. John got ready to go out to meet with the rebels, and Barbara went downstairs to work out for a couple of hours. Downstairs was a small area, hardly furnished. It was once probably used as a storage, and nothing else. It was the perfect area for Barbara and Helena to work out in day to day. While exercising the punching bag that the girls had stolen from an abandoned gym, she heard feet walk down the stairs. She stopped and looked over her shoulder to see her father standing at the foot of the steps. She smiled at him and turned around.

"Hey dad. Off for another exciting day?" Barbara asked, taking off her gloves and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Yesterday was your birthday." He stated, handing Barbara a glass of water. She took a drink, and set it down on top of a box. "But you didn't bring it up like you used to every year."

"I didn't think that it was a time to celebrate." She said, leaning on the wall. "I mean, it was just another day that we had to live like this."

"Barbara, you need to know this." Jim said, putting his hands on Barbara's shoulders. "Anytime that I see you happy, it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. You're eighteen years old. It isn't every day that you become an adult, none the less an adult so adamant on changing the way people live. You deserve to feel good about yourself."

Barbara remained silent, thinking about what her father said. There have been many people to try and do good in Gotham since the beginning of September, with nearly all of them failing. Barbara was one of the few that lived past a few days. She lived to see her birthday, unlike so many other people. "Dad, I love you." She said, leaning forward, and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, not wanting to let go.

"I love you most, Babs." He replied, kissing the side of her head. They remained together for a few moments, taking in the comfort that each of them gave. They let each other go, and said their goodbyes as he left with John to go and save Gotham, as Barbara did at night.

She smiled for a second, then turned back to the punching bag that awaited a day of abuse.

* * *

"It's a cold night." Helena said on top of Wayne Towers.

"It's going to keep getting colder too." Barbara said tossing her hair out of her face. The wind on top of the building was hard, making it hard to see in front of her without squinting her eyes.

The girls quickly made their way down from the top of the tower, and began a night of making a difference.

**1 This is irony. Where I live in Canada, late October/ Early November is bitterly cold, and it snows around halfway through November.**

**A/N: I intend to write an action filled chapter next time, to make up for the lack of it. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and followed this story. If you want to read an awesome Barbara Gordon story I recommend The Killing Joke by Sweetlilsis**  
**It's an old story, from when The Dark Knight was released. It was one of the first Batman fan fictions I read on this site, right next to another fic, which I recommend for anyone who like a good laugh called The MarySue by Dallas W.**

**QOTD: Do you want a sex scene between John and Barbara?**

**I've never written a sex scene before, but I'm willing to broaden my horizons if people want me to.**

**I'll see you all soon, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**xTDC**


	12. Day Fifty

Day Fifty

Barbara ran through the empty alleyway keeping a comfortable distance between her and the man who was chasing her. Helena was perched up on a ladder, ready to jump whenever Barbara and the 'former' rapist/murderer Victor Zsass got close enough. Zsass always believed killing the woman he did meant that he was liberating their souls, but because of this answer he was tossed into Arkham Asylum by the man himself.

Although Barbara was once a gold medal runner, she kept her pace slow to make sure Zsass believed he was catching up on her. When she got under the fire ladder Helena jumped, knocking the psycho onto the ground. Barbara slowed down and turned around. She smiled at the enraged Zsass, mocking him.

"I hope you didn't have any plans Victor." She said, a smile on her lips. "Because you might just have to… hang them up."

Helena laughed high fiving the red head. "That's a fucking awesome pun. I should use that sometime." With a quick hit behind the head, the psychopathic murderer was unconscious and being dragged along the pavement.

"Damn, the guy must be two fifty at least. And it's all muscle too!" Barbara complained pulling his arms.

"I'll do the hanging if you spot me. Make sure I don't fall to my death, if you know what I mean." Helena offered, trying to pick up the killer by his feet.

Barbara rolled her eyes and kept walking. It was a long way to City Hall.

After Helena managed to hang the man over the light post was when things started going downhill for the night. Turns out in the week that the Birds of Prey had been operating, a bounty for half a million dollars was put on both their heads, dead or alive. At first Barbara was worried that Bane had told his men about her true identity but with quick eavesdropping she found out that her name was still unknown.

As they were running back towards the clock tower from city hall, a few hollers diverted their attention behind them where dozens of armed men were following them. Helena and Barbara bolted for an exit, hitting a wall. The only way to get away was to climb up onto the roof.

"I say we fight what about you Babs?" Helena asked as they climbed onto the roof.

"I couldn't agree more Helena."

With the snap of a finger the two girls stood on either ends of the ladder waiting for the men to reach them. When the first one arrived on top they both got a swift kick to the neck by the girls. They dropped their guns and fell backwards, knocking the other guys down the escape route. Gunshots rang out, prompting the girls to run in the other directing, but the men had covered all escape routes.

"I think this is your time to shine Helena." Barbara whispered to the young teen. Helena nodded and pulled out her crossbow. The first few arrows flew into the pelvis' of their enemies in front while Barbara swatted the guns from the ones behind. The red head kicked her heel into the leg of a mean who tried to grab her mask, while Helena knocked out the man trying to sneak up behind Barbara. But Helena had neglected to see the attacker behind her own back.

She was hit over the head with the butt end of his gun, and collapsed on the ground. Barbara kicked the man in the head, leaving a bloody wound on her forehead.

Barbara fought with all the strength she had left. She took a couple hits to the jaw, but a kick in the groin left the man unable to stand. The scene around her was one of absolute carnage. People were lying in heaps on the ground around the vigilante, sparking a reminder in her head of Helena who was unconscious behind her. The girl was not terribly injured but rather just knocked out. Barbara sighed in relief and picked up Helena, putting her on her back. If she was conscious, Helena would have laughed at the situation she was in.

But Barbara was anything but laughing.

The walk to the house was long, especially with a one hundred pound person on her back. She was being weighed down, and what would have been a walk that took an hour and a half took almost three hours. When she got the house, the sky was beginning to lighten up, and the sun was rising.

"John, Dad!" Barbara yelled trying to get Helena through the front door. Within seconds she could her feet jumping out of bed and down the hallway.

John grabbed Helena while Jim helped Barbara to the couch. She took of her mask and tried to flatten out the frizz in her hair, with no difference. "They knew we were coming." Barbara panted. "Waited till we showed up and ambushed us. One of them hit Helena on the head with their gun."

"Junior…" The commissioner whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder. Barbara sucking in a breath. She hadn't been called Junior since the fateful day Harvey Dent took her and her family hostage.

_"Tell Junior everything will be alright Jim. Just like I had to tell the girl I loved."_

"I think you should hang up the cape."

Barbara stared at him with a wide eyed expression. "Dad, you can't ask me to do that. I can't let Gotham give up hope."

"That's just the thing Barbara. You wanted to be a revolutionary symbol, but it's become something a lot bigger. People want you dead."

"People wanted Batman dead too!"

"And he probably is!"

Barbara sat silently, his words running though her head. Her father didn't know Bruce Wayne was Batman, and the more she thought about it the bigger the possibility that the words were true. Bruce Wayne was the richest man in Gotham. If anything he was one of the first people killed by the 'people's court'.

"If he's dead…" Barbara began cautiously, "Gotham needs Helena and I more than ever. I promise you I won't do anything reckless or stupid. I'll just keep to the side and lay low."

"You know Babs, the reason those men are out there is because Bane knows you could be a threat to his plans."

Barbara looked at her father, a smile on the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, I know."

John walking into the living room, rubbing his hands together. "Helena is fine. Just knocked out. She may want to take it easy for a while."

Barbara sighed, slouching on the couch. She was definitely going to need a vacation after Gotham was back to normal.

* * *

Morning dawned and things were like normal.

Jim was first to leave, speaking about trying to find which truck had the atom bomb in it. Barbara was curled up on a kitchen chair, trying to keep somewhat warm. Her hair was falling into her face tickling her nose slightly.

John was getting ready to go to the boy's home downtown. He was putting on his shoes when he looked up to Barbara and proposed that she came along with him.

"You don't really leave during the day," He said, urging her to some along. "You need to enjoy the sunlight."

Barbara agreed, standing up. She put on a pair of skinny jeans and a wool sweater her grandmother gave to her the previous Christmas. After slipping on a pair of shoes and writing a note for when Helena woke up, she was ready to go.

The two held hands while walking down the deserted streets. Barbara never imagined that she would ever have walked hand in hand with a guy before she met John. Keith had never been a romantic. Sure he treated her well; he just never publicly showed affection.

"I think it's so great you still look after these boys." Barbara said, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "They probably look up to you so much."

John laughed. "Half those kids want to be cops one day."

"And maybe they will, just like you."

John smiled and kissed her on the side of the head. In a few minutes they reached the orphanage, where John was greeted like a king. He introduced Barbara to Father Reilly and the boys (who immediately fell in love with her).

Barbara was in the kitchen, helping a few people prepare a warm lunch for the boys. The home was lucky enough to have a few hours of electricity. She was cleaning up after the food was done cooking when a little boy walked in with his plate and sat at the table, staring at her.

"Are you and John dating?" He asked her, making Barbara blush.

"Do you know what dating is?" She asked, trying to divert the question.

"Yaw. It's where a two people hold hands all the time and kiss." He said, taking a bite of his food. "Well, are you?"

"Not yet, but maybe after Gotham is back to normal we'll date." Barbara said, laughing. The boy was content with the answer, and finished his food so he could run to the living room and watch some Spongebob before the power went out again. John came in a few minutes later, asking if she was ready to get going. She nodded and put the town next to the sink.

The two took last minute rounds, making sure the food are well stocked and medical items were available. They said their final goodbyes to the people in the building, and headed out back to the house.

"Those are some sweet boys that live there." Barbara said, smiling.

"They are aren't they?" He replied, putting his arm over her shoulder. "I can tell they adored you."

"That's good to know. That was the ultimate test, wasn't it? That all the people in your life approved of me?"

"Part of it." He joked, pushing her softly. She laughed intertwining their arms together, and enjoying the company of someone that she cared for deeply.

When they got home, Helena was up and making tea in a cordless kettle that they had found while going through an abandoned home a few weeks earlier. She was making cups of canned tea for everyone, asking how their morning was. It seemed that their were no side effects to the hit she had received in the head besides a large bump and a slight head ache.

"Thank god you have my back, Barb. I would have been horse shit if you weren't there." Helena said, pouring hot water into the cups.

"Thank you for that analogy Helena." Barbara said, cringing at the thought. John laughed, grabbing a seat next to Barbara on the couch. Helena handed them their tea and sat on the adjacent chair, smiling.

"It's been a long time since we had a day like this." Helena said, sipping the warm liquid. "Shit this is good."

"You're fifteen years old Helena and you swear like a sailor." John said, giving her a disapproving look.

"I learned it from my social worker. He was a total idiot. Didn't give two shits about us. Called my friend Steph and I incompetent fucking whores."

"Jesus." Barbara said, staring at Helena. "That's brutal."

"Yeah. Stephanie took it worse then I did. Set his car on fire while he was parked in the Narrows. Gave him the finger when he looked out side and she was pouring gasoline on it."

Barbara and John were laughing, trying not to spill the tea. Barbara looked at John, a smile plastered on her face. Even though they were sitting in an abandoned home with no power, little food, and they didn't know if they would be alive in a week, she could honestly say she was as happy as she could be.

**A/N: Wow, sorry that took so long. I've been preoccupied with work, and school. Today was my first day of my senior year so I have lots of energy from my excitement of finally graduating. Right now I have limited access to my fanfiction account because my laptop is being repaired, so if you want to send me PM's just send them to the account, and I get in my email. I just won't be able to respond, so if you send me something I have gotten it, I just can't respond right now.**

**QOTD: Which actresses do you see portraying Barbara and Helena?**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'm glad you all have stuck with me for so long.**

**xTDC**


	13. Day Sixty

**A/N: So, I'm alive if you were wondering. I know it's been 2 months, and I am so so so sorry. I have been impossibly busy with school and work. But I'm hoping to have this story done by the end of the year, then start working on the sequel. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. We're going to be seeing a bit of a lost character. It's a super short chapter, and kinda just a filler, but shits gonna go down soon.**

**Day 60**

Helena may have long since recovered from their night of terror nearly two weeks earlier, but the girls had not been out for long periods of time since that night. Their rebellion tactics had been floundering, and it was obvious to see that their enemies were feeling safer at night again. Barbara was finding herself getting more tired more easily, and Helena still got head aches every so often from the hit to her head.

"I feel like I'm letting Gotham down." Barbara mumbled, sitting on a chair in the back yard. It was now November, and Barbara had been stressing out the past couple days, thinking the psychotic criminals may have a little pranks up their dirty sleeves. "If something happens, what am I going to do?"

John sat next to her, holding her hand. The sun was once again rising, and the frost on the grass and rooftops were more visible. The two were bundled up in thick sweaters, their breath visible in the air. He didn't know what to say to her, but he understood where she was coming from.

For the past couple months he had been in correspondence with his partner in the sewers, and trying to plan a rebellion with the remaining officers above ground, but with time passing, he was beginning to feel like nothing would happen. But he also know that no matter how bad things got at one point, things could also get better.

"You may have these feelings now, but who knows what will happen in a couple days. Last week I felt like we would never get Gotham back, and now we've got the Special Ops coming into Gotham in a couple days. This could finally be it, you know."

Barbara smiled at John and kissed him on the cheek. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as clouds began to loom over the red sun. "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning." She mumbled.

John nodded and looked off into the distance. He had a bad feeling about that red sky.

The snow storm began while John and Barbara were gathering supplies from her old apartment. It started off slowly, than all at once. The two had tried to see if they could walk home, but the winds were so fast that neither could see anything two feet in front of them, so they were stuck in the fairly decent sized apartment.

"Is there anything to eat in here?" John called from the kitchen as Barbara lit up some candles she had around the living room.

"I wouldn't count on it. Bane's men probably cleared the place out when they brought me in that first time. I had a lot of stuff in there." She said, lighting a match. The heat from the flame burned against the skin of her thumb, but she didn't mind.

"Your candles smell like Christmas." John said, leaning against the doorway. Barbara laughed as she put out the match.

"They are Christmas candles. I have cranberry scented and pine. Keith hated them, so I never lighted them."

"I like them. They remind me of a better time, if you know what I mean."

Barbara nodded a little, and walked over to him. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The happiness and joy that comes from Christmas. It was always my favorite holiday because of the music, and how it brought family together."

The two were standing in the doorway, looking out the kitchen window at the snow. Just looking at it made Barbara shiver. John looked at her, a smiled. Had she always been that tall? He couldn't remember, but he couldn't even see the top of her head. Barbara looked at his and smiled, her eyes crinkling in the way that he loved so much, and before he knew if he was kissing her.

It wasn't like the other kisses they shared. For some reason, Barbara felt there was almost more desperation in this kiss, like she was disappearing and he would never see her again. She kissed back, he hand on his cheek. Within seconds his hand was in her hair, pushing it away from her face. She felt his hands on her waist, then on her jean loops.

The walk to the bedroom had never been so long.

* * *

Pamela Isley was sitting in the basement bunker with her former schoolmates. It had been a few months since she had seen the face of Barbara Gordon, but she knew it was for the best.

She and her friends had been spending the long weeks planning out an attack to bring down Bane when she had heard them talking about Batgirl and her sidekick Huntress. Instinctively she smiled remembering Barbara's excitement about helping the citizens of Gotham bring back order to their city, and was glad that she had found a partner to help her.

Now that there days were getting shorter, the red head was unsure of the correct date. She was sure it was at least the beginning of November, but she couldn't be to sure. Of course no one really paid attention to the date, because no one had any where to go.

"Pamela, are you going to help us or not?" Someone called from the back of the bunker. She snapped out of her daydream and nodded, turning to the group. "So Pam, tell us your grand idea."

Pamela smiled, and looked at the wide eyes of the 20 or so people cramped in the room. "Well, first things first. We need Batgirl."

* * *

The snow had stopped falling. John and Barbara had began their walk home, holding hands. Barbara couldn't keep the bright smile off of her face, and John would laugh whenever he looked at her.

"You look like Bane was just killed or something. I don't think I've ever seen you this happy."

"I love you John." Barbara said, looking at him.

He put his arm around her shoulder, and the two walked together as if nothing had ever happened to their day to day life. For the first time, Barbara felt like everything was back to normal, and that Keith wasn't dead, and that Bane didn't come to Gotham. But even though this was not the case, she was blessed to have that feeling.

A/N: I know it's like, super short, but I just wanted to get this out before shit started going down in the next couple chapters.

The next chapter is the scene in the movie with the Special Ops men, then we will be going right back into the chronological order of the movie. So within the next four or five chapters, Batman and Batgirl will finally meet for the first time, and then the two can have their final face off with Bane, and Talia respectively (notice how I said respectively, because Bane and Barbara are going to have a wicked fight scene).

See you all in a couple days. I am hoping to have this next chapter done by Saturday evening.

xTDC


	14. A Turn of Events

**A Turn of Events**

Barbara had woken up just as the sun was rising. Today was the big day John could not stop talking about. The day that everything would change. She had not been told much of the plan, only that her father had somehow gotten into contact with special forces outside of Gotham, and they were coming into the city that morning to begin the operation. John wanted Helena and Barbara to come along, and help with any sort of combat that may occur.

"You're probably the best ones in the city right now," He had said at the dinner table the previous night, "we may need you."

As the sky began to brighten up, the four began their journey to a place down by Barbara's old apartment, a convenience store which used to pride itself in being the least robbed place in the city. But Barbara was sure that the older man had been killed in the first couple of days, because she remembered hearing the gunshot late at night and knowing exactly where it came from.

The walk there was particularly uneventful. Gordon was already at the store, having gathered up the last of the free police officers, including deputy commissioner Foley, who Barbara had met on many occasions. Helena had brought along her half charged iPod, and was walking behind John and Barbara who were silently fearing the oncoming plan.

"What if something goes wrong," Barbara asked, fixing her scarf, "like Bane finds out, or we all get killed?"

"It may happen, but I think its best if we don't think about the bad outcomes," John said, pulling her hand away from her scarf, "how about we talk about the good. What is the first thing you're doing once Bane is gone?"

"Take a nice hot bath and sleep in my own bed." Barbara said simply, smiling at the thought. Wouldn't that be a change for once.

"I'm going to take you on a proper date. I'll pick you up in a fancy car, I'll wear a suit, and you can wear a dress, and we'll go somewhere uptown, maybe Pastalli's?"

Barbara giggled, "with what money? Pastalli's can only be afforded by Bruce Wayne, and business owners."

"We'll figure it out as we go along." John said, shrugging. Barbara laughed, and John joined in. He couldn't wait for that day to come.

* * *

"Do you have I.D?" Foley asked the men who walked into the back storeroom. Barbara and Helena was leaning on the back wall watching intently. There eyes did not move from these men.

"Of course not." The leader said, making a face of disbelief to the deputy commissioner. Barbara agreed. It was far to dangerous for these outsiders to bring identification with them.

"Then how can we trust you?" He replied, obviously annoyed with this mans lack of planning for the situation.

"We don't have any choice." Barbara heard her father say, and watched as he walked into the room from the back.

"Commissioner Gordon. Captain Jones, Special Forces." The man introduced himself, shaking Gordon's hand.

"Glad to have you here." He replied, nodding.

"It's our job. Now, uh, how many of you are there?"

"Dozens. I'd rather not say exactly. My daughter Barbara over there," He said, pointing to Barbara. She nodded, and he returned the gesture, "the men underground, almost three thousand. They've been getting food and water."

"Can we get them out?"

"Yes sir," John said, stepping forward, "take out the mercenaries guarding the outflow, blow the rubble, we can make a hole big enough for ten at a time. I'm in contact with my partner who's down there, they're just waiting for the signal."

John offered to show Captain Jones around Gotham, show him how they try and identify the trucks that may or may not carry the bomb on it. Barbara was given the task of finding where most of Bane's men were guarding, and see if she can't overhear where the truck may be located or heading. Helena was to stay with Gordon and help with anything else that needed to be done.

Barbara walked around though alleys aimlessly, not being able to find a single person. Maybe Bane's men had common sense and stayed inside away from the cold. Although she highly doubted it, she couldn't seem to find traces of a single person. But she spoke, or thought, too soon.

"Hey there stranger." Someone called from the end of the alley Barbara was maneuvering through. She looked to the opening to see a familiar face.

"Holy shit. Pamela?"

"You got it. You've come far since I last saw you. Been keeping an eye on your nightly crusades. Got yourself a little sidekick." Pamela said, red hair tied in a braid.

"She's quite good, so I hardly call her a sidekick. What can I do for you? We haven't talked since you left out of the blue."

"I joined a group of rebels. We have an underground lair and everything. But we need your help."

"With what? I'm sure you guys have plenty of people to help you out."

"It's easy enough when half the people are computer hackers, but there always needs to be a fighter to help a rebellion out."

Barbara could not believe this headquarters. Although Gotham was plunged in darkness, this underground fortress had electricity to power several computers and a television that sat in the far corner. All of the members were gathered around the television, signaling to both Barbara and Pamela that breaking news had just occurred.

"Oh my god," Barbara exclaimed, looking at the television. The three bodies of the Special Forces men were hanging from a bridge that had been blown up several months earlier. She suddenly had a terrifying feeling that John may be hurt as well. "I knew them. I was helping the Gotham Police Department and they were with us as well."

"God bless their souls." A girl not much older than Helena said from the front of the small group. After a few minutes people began to disperse, and go back to their previous work. Pamela began to show Barbara around.

Barbara had no idea what she was going to do.

"Just go out there, keep your eyes open and report any activity through the earpiece. Do not talk unless you need to, and we'll do the same." The tech specialist Pete explained to Barbara as he placed an earpiece into her ear.

"What if I happen to break it?" Barbara asked, trying to stand still for him.

"Then you're shit outta luck." He shrugged. "There ya go. Now go off and make a difference or something."

Pamela showed Barbara to the entrance, and smiled. "Thank you for agreeing to do this. We really needed the help."

"I don't mind. It does give you credit that I know you though." Barbara said, laughing. The girls nodded at each other, and Barbara was off, running into the setting sun. First things first, she needed her costume.

* * *

Barbara was lucky that the fabric of her costume was wind repellent, because she would have frozen to death. She had received word that her father had been captured by a group of mercenaries, so she was trying to make her way to the courthouse where he would most likely be sentenced to his death.

"HEY!" She heard someone yell from across her. She didn't have enough time to look before she was knocked to the ground. She breathed in heavily before being able to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" The voice of Pete filled her head.

"Fine, just a little cold." Barbara said, trying to stand up.

"You're the Batgirl everyone is talking about right?" Someone said from across the street. Barbara tried to see who had knocked her over, but whoever it was had run off. Probably a street kid.

"I'd say no, but you probably wouldn't believe me." Barbara said, wiping the snow off of her.

"You've done a mighty fine job at keeping the criminals on their toes from what I've heard. But no one can tell me who you are. Well kept secret."

Barbara laughed harshly, "not so much for Bane and his friends. They know who I am, and my best moves."

"The worst of people always know you're weakness. Take out the earpiece, tell me who you are, and I'll tall you who I am."

Barbara contemplated for a moment, trying to hear the screams of protest in her ear from Pete and whoever was standing around him. She definitely heard Pamela in there somewhere. She smiled slightly, finally feeling in control of her actions. She took out the ear piece and threw it on the ground, breaking it.

"My name is Barbara Gordon." She said, taking off her mask. "My adopted father is Jim Gordon." She waited for a moment, hoping that she had not just been tricked into saying he identity by the bad guy. The figure stepped forward into the moonlight.

"I should have known." Barbara said, laughing. "If it isn't Bruce Wayne himself. Or I guess Batman."

_**A/N: Oh hi I'm alive.**_

_**I know it has been like, forever, but I am so close to being done and I just had to keep telling myself I could finish it. So yeah, just a few more chapters, can you believe it? I'm looking at probably 20 chapters in total.**_

**Question of the day: How should I conclude the story?**

_**I have no clue how I want this story to end, so I really need some ideas. Also reviews make me feel amazing, and whenever I see I have one I almost cry.**_

_**Thanks for reading my ramblings,**_

_**xTDC**_


	15. A New Dawn

**A New Dawn**

Barbara reached the frozen water just as Batman had taken down the final guard who had pushed her father out to his exile. She and Batman had made a plan, which required pouring oil onto the top of a bridge in the shape of a bat. At first, Barbara found this quite useless, but Bruce was adamant on the idea that it would help people rise up.

That was when she realized that her father had been sent to exile, rather than death. She had seen him being pushed out of the side door, and out onto the ice, even though the sun had already set. Bruce told her to finish off the job while he took care of the guards.

"Lazy son of a bitch," She mumbled to herself as she climbed down the top of the bridge, "can't even fucking finish a bat. "I'll go help them, finish up here." Oh fuck off."

The ice wasn't solid. In fact, it was far from it. Barbara could hear the sound of the ice underneath her feet cracking, but she tried to keep her head up. She could see the slim form of Helena holding onto another prisoner's arm, trying not to fall over. Barbara walked up to Bruce as Gordon lit up a flare that he had left there for him. He threw it to the ground, and the bat that Barbara had finished mere moments earlier was up in flames.

"Where's Miranda Tate?" Batman asked Jim in his usual gravely voice.

"Bane's got her," He replied, "He's up at City Hall, surrounded by his army."

Batman looked at him for a moment, then nodded, "This blocks the remote signal to the bomb," He said, handing the metal cube to the Commissioner, "get it on to it before sunrise. It might hit the button before it starts."

"When what starts?"

"War."

Gordon nodded, and signaled for his men to get off the ice. Helena looked over at Barbara, a wondering look in her eyes, "Don't worry Helena. Just do your thing." Barbara said, smiling at her young friend, "Where is John?"

"He went to go help the officers out of the sewers," He father called, "hopefully he's doing better then we are."

Barbara's eyes widened, and began a mad dash off the ice. She knew that John was going to be in trouble and that she had to go help him. As soon as she was on the pavement, Batman had caught up to her and pulled her back. "What the hell are you doing?" He said in his normal voice. You can't just go run in there. If he is in danger, those men have guns and they will kill you."

"Well Mr. Wayne, I think you quite underestimate my armor. You and I have a mutual friend in Mr. Fox." Barbara said, trying to get out of his grip. He held on tighter.

"Even so, I'm sure that mask doesn't protect your head. We'll go get Blake, but on my own terms."

"Really? And what is that?"

_Oh god, _Barbara thought as she readied herself to jump from the top of this structure, _I have done this far too many times. _

Right as the front man was about to pull this trigger to kill John was when Batman gave her the signal. She jumped down, and landed on her feet, which hurt a lot more then she thought it would.

"Shit!" She yelled as she swiftly kicked John's attacker in the throat, causing him to fall over in pain. She then kicked him in the face to knock him out. "Oh my god that hurts. Okay. Okay. Okay."

John took up her part, and punched the person behind her as she tried to regain her composure. By the time she got back up on her feet, the mercenaries were already taken care of. "Well that sucks," Barbara said, standing up, "one guy is definitely not my record."

"If you're working alone, wear a mask." Batman said to John.

"I'm not afraid to been seen standing up to these guys." John replied as he regained his composure.

"The masks not for you," Barbara explained suddenly, "It's to protect the people you care about."

Batman nodded, then pulled a small device out of his pocket. "Count to five then throw."

John took it, counted to five then threw it. The bomb let out a meager explosion, not even enough to make a little hole for someone to walk through. "No offence, but do you have something bigger in that belt!"

As if on cue, Batman flew out of a corner, blowing a hole into the rubble. Barbara laughed as the plane flew off again. John looked at Barbara smiling. She could hear the yells of orders from commanding officers in the sewers. They were on their way out.

"Well golly gee, we've done it John." Barbara laughed, grabbing his hand. He too was smiling, and pulled her into a kiss. She could help but continue smiling.

As John broke apart the kiss, he looked into Barbara's blue eyes, and put a hand on her cheek. "If we both survive what is coming, will you marry me?"

"Wow," Barbara breathed, shock on her face, "First a real date this morning, and now marriage. Are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard?"

"Barbara, I know this is impulsive, and a little crazy, but I love you. I don't think I'd ever be able to move on from you if things didn't work out. You're beautiful, funny, and perfect."

"Here's the thing John. We are about to go off to war, and we both can't guarantee we're going to make it out of this alive. If we both live, and are able to cope with everything that happened, then yes, I will. Also, you have to promise me that you will get those kids at the boys home off the island today. That bomb is going off in a few short hours, and they need to get the hell out of here."

John nodded, and quickly kissed her once more before the hoards of police officers and swat teams began to empty the sewers. As the two began to walk back up to the surface, Batman cut them off,

"What now?" John asked, taking Barbara's hand.

"All out assault on Bane. But you need to get people across that bridge." Batman explained. Barbara nodded, nudging John. "I need you Batgirl."

"Of course," Barbara said, "anything you need."

John kissed her goodbye, and thanked Batman, "Don't thank me yet." He said.

"I might not get a chance to later." John said, shrugging, running off out of the underground area.

Barbara watched fearfully as he disappeared out of site. Her heart pounded, and she could feel the sweat on top of her forehead build up. That was when she realized that she loved him, and that if they both lived, she would marry him.

* * *

The sun began to rise over Gotham, beginning a new day. But this was not any new day to the citizen's of the occupied city. It was a New Dawn.

**A/N: That was quicker than last time wasn't it? Like I said last authors note, I'm going to try and spit out the last of this as quick as possible. So what do you think of John's proposal? I mean, obviously shit is going to go down between this and the next few chapters, so you never know what's going to happen.**

**QOTD: Who would you see playing Barbara and Helena in a movie?**

**Thanks again to everyone for reading this. Please leave a review because they make me happy. See you all soon,**

**xTDC**


	16. Before My Time

**Before My Time**

_Keep calm and carry on_

_No worse for the wear_

_I don't wanna die alone_

_I don't wanna die alone_

_Way before my time_

"_Before My Time" - J. Ralph_

* * *

"Barbara, this is the craziest thing we've ever done, you know that right?" Helena said, following the red head down the empty streets.

"Second craziest," Barbara reminded the young girl, "right next to actually deciding to fight crime."

Helena thought for a second, then nodded to herself. Barbara stopped for a minute, then turned. She walked down into a small alleyway, where a door was located at the end of the path. Helena was glaring holes of confusion into the back of Barbara's head. The older girl knocked on the door a few times then stood back. Within moments the door flung open, and Pamela was looking extremely displeased.

"Now that was a stupid move," Pamela whispered, letting the girls into the shelter. "Pete's been upset about that earpiece all night. What even happened?"

"The police are out of the sewer. The fight for Gotham begins when the sun rises." Barbara explained as the three stood in the little alcove next to the door.

"How did you manage that?" The other red head asked, crossing her arms.

"With a little help from a bat and a bird." Barbara said simply. The three girls looked at each other for a moment before Pamela opened the door back up for them to leave.

"Maybe we'll help. I'll talk to Pete and see what we can do."

"Thank you Pam, this means a lot. You've been a great friend."

Barbara hugged Pamela for a moment before running quickly out of the alley. Helena followed swiftly behind, not before looking at Pamela, and the concern on her face.

* * *

Barbara looked over Gotham from the top of the clock tower with a defiant look on her face. There was no way that she would let Bane destroy her city. A gust of wind blew in her face, pushing the hair out of her eyes. It was a bitter wind that froze her cheeks, but she didn't care. The cold reminded her that she was alive.

"What would happen if I jumped?" Helena asked, walking along the side of the ledge, "besides die, you know."

Barbara looked down and furrowed her brow in thought, "well, the height of the tower would almost slow you down, and you would be awake every moment of it. I would have one less person to fight with tomorrow, and you would never become a full time crime fighter."

Helena thought about that for a second, and nodded, "you're right I guess, and if we save Gotham today than I would be able to finally have that Starbucks down the street."

"If we both survive this, I'll buy you and everyone in Gotham a Starbucks."

Helena laughed and kicked a stone off the roof. She looked out past Wayne Towers and breathed slowly, "the sun is rising."

* * *

Barbara nodded slowly and stepped backwards towards the door. This was finally the moment of truth.

Hoards of police officers made their way towards city hall, carrying any sort of weapons they could find. Guns from the sewers, lead pipes, crowbars and knives. Barbara and Helena were following the crowds along the rooftops, trying to get a good idea of how many people they had.

"I'd say a couple thousand, if not everyone that was in the sewers," Barbara said trying to keep up with the front, "I know Bane has a lot of men too. We just need to watch each others backs."

Helena nodded, and smiled, "I'm glad to have been a part of this with you, Barbara."

"Me too Helena. Just remember to be careful and we can both make it out of this. Now stay up here for a few minutes after the fighting starts, then make your way down and start taking weapons from the dead."

"You got it boss."

Barbara laughed, stopping at the edge of the building they were on. She nodded at Helena, and brought her into an embrace, "stay strong." She whispered.

Barbara began to descend the ladder into the alleyway below, and join the people on the streets. She looked up one last time at Helena and waved sadly, scared to be leaving her friend all by herself.

"I'll be fine!" Helena yelled over the yelling of the people in the streets. Barbara knew she would be okay, but that didn't help the feeling in the pit of her stomach.

When the group reached city hall they were greeted by the criminals who had lurked the streets of Gotham for far too long. Barbara was standing at the edge of the crowd, her eyes burning from lack of sleep. Her costume was beginning to tear, and her mask was once again missing, but she wasn't too worried about people seeing her. Either they win the battle or they die trying. Barbara's hair blew in the wind, and snowflakes had begun to get caught in it.

"Hey Gordon," she heard someone call. Looking behind her she saw Deputy Commissioner Foley wearing his full uniform.

"Foley, long time no speak," she smiled, shaking his hand.

"Always suspected you to be the one to save Gotham in a time like this, but I never though you would become a Batman sidekick." He laughed, looking at her costume.

"Nah, I'm not a sidekick. I'm just a person looking to make a difference. Good luck today, Foley." She said, putting her hand on his upper arm.

"You too kid. Don't leave the older Gordon on his own."

Barbara nodded, and watched as he went and joined a few of his friends from the force on the other side of the road. Everyone stood and waited, until the screams erupted from the front of the mob, and made its way back. The fighting began.

* * *

Pamela and Pete were organizing all the weapons they could get from around the bunker and got a group of people together to stay true to Pamela's promise. Barbara did not have to be alone.

"You and the other red head have history. I can tell." Pete said putting on a bullet proof vest he had found in the old Gotham Police Station.

"A bit, yeah," Pamela replied while tying up her hair, "hopefully after this is all done I can fix what I fucked up, y'know?"

"Yeah, I do."

"See you on the other side, Petey boy." She said opening up the door and dashing out as fast as possible from the hideout.

* * *

Barbara couldn't breathe.

She had noticed that some of Bane's men were quick thinkers, and soon took over the rooftops with their guns, shooting at the people below. She needed to make sure Helena was able to get down from her spot on the roof, or that she was safe from the others.

Climbing up the rusted ladder was painful, but Barbara didn't notice. She was too preoccupied with trying to help Helena. Once on the top of the roof, she saw Helena ducking under a heating vent, trying to keep herself calm.

"Helena!" Barbara yelled, catching the attention of the 15 year old. She looked over at Barbara, smiling a bit and waving. Barbara got down on her stomach and crawled over to her. She could hear bullets whizzing past her head.

"Hey Barbara. I'm safe, kinda." Helena joked, getting down on her stomach as well.

"I see that. Let's get out of here alright?" The two began crawling along the roof, rocks digging into their open wounds. Just as they reached the ladder, Barbara heard Helena emit a high pitch scream. Standing up, Barbara was left face to face with the face of the one person she didn't want to see.

"Long time no see Batgirl," Barsad said, holding his hand gun up to Helena's head. She was struggling to get away from his grasp, but with no luck, "you know, you two had a great game going on. I know Bane really enjoyed it, for a while."

"Look, just let Helena go. I was the one who dragged her into this. Everything we've ever done was my idea." Barbara explained, trying to get Helena back to safety.

"Really, and why should I believe that?" He laughed slightly, not moving an inch.

"Because she's a fifteen year old girl. There is no way she could have done any of this. If you want to hurt someone hurt me."

"Oh I intend to."

In a flash of an eye Barsad was at the building ledge, and looking over, "Awfully far way down don't you think?"

Barbara's eyes widened in fear, "oh god, please don't…"

Even through the sound of gunshots and yelling, all that was heard was the high pitched scream of Barbara as her best friend was sent over the edge of the building.

**I'm just going to leave you with these thoughts, because I know you all hate me right now.**

**xTDC**


	17. Bluer Than Velvet was the Night

_She wore Blue Velvet_

_But in my heart there'll always be _

_Precious and warm a memory through the years_

_And I still can see Blue Velvet through my tears_

_Blue Velvet _- Bobby Vinton

Bluer Than Velvet was the Night

Everything was in slow motion for Barbara. The shouts from in the street, the high pitched scream from Helena, and the cries she made herself. It wasn't until she heard the thud of Helena hit the ground below that Barbara snapped out of the darkness. Her heart sank and she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She looked up slowly, and stared Barsad in the eyes, and growing anger forming.

It was then that the first blow hit. Barbara had ran forward and kicked Barsad in the stomach, knocking him backwards. He went to go grab his gun, but she was too quick and kicked him onto the ground. As he fell over, Barbara kicked the gun back, and stepped on his arm as it hit the ground. She heard the bone crack under her sole, and felt him try to jerk his arm back towards him. He did not scream, but it was obvious he was in much pain.

"You kidnap me, taunt me, torture me and murder my best friend. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now." Barbara said, picking up the semi-automatic he had dropped. She pointed it at his head, feeling the adrenaline rush through her veins.

"It makes you no better than myself. You become a killer, and go against anything you or Batman ever stood for." He said, staring at her straight in the eye. Barbara breathed in deeply and nodded to herself. She raised the gun high and hit him over the head, knocking him out cold.

Barbara threw the gun to the ground and ran to the ladder, climbing down as fast as possible. Her hands were rubbing against the splintered metal, making her hands bleed onto the bars. When she reached the ground she had no time to inspect the damage, but ran right to Helena, who lay motionless on the ground.

Barbara kneeled down and put Helena's head on her lap. The 15 year old girl coughed and let out a tiny moan.

"I fucked up Barbara," Helena whispered, a tear falling down her cheek, "I should have been watching my back."

"No no no Helena," Barbara replied, pulling the younger girl's mask off her face and pushing the hair away from her face, "you did amazing. You're so great."

Helena smiled and grabbed Barbara's hand, "you're the best, Batgirl."

She coughed a few more times, then was still. Barbara's breath shook, as she tried to keep herself calm. _Oh god_, she thought, _how can I do this alone. _

Barbara leaned Helena up against the wall, and picked up the blue mask. She stared at it in her hands for a few moments before she put it on her own face, determinately nodding to herself.

She would finish off what the two of them had started.

* * *

John was trying so hard to get all the kids together before the bomb detonated, but all he could think of was Barbara. Although she promised that everything would be alright, he still felt obligated to be helping her directly instead of just standing around.

"John!" He heard someone yell from down the street. Turning around he found himself face to face with the form of Pamela. "John, do you know where Barbara is?"

"She went with the mob downtown. Helena is with her I think. Why, what happened?" John asked, still pushing children onto the bus.

"Nothing, I hope. I just need to help her. I feel like a shitty friend who left her with the weight of the world on her shoulders." She explained, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

John nodded, and looked at his watch. There wasn't much time. The bomb would soon explode, and would most definitely take everyone down with it. "I'm taking the kids off this island. Go find Barbara and Helena and get them out of here. I'm counting on you Pam."

Pamela nodded, and wished John good luck. Running off into the streets, she wondered what would happen in the next hour.

* * *

Barbara burst into city hall at the wrong time.

Bruce was laying on the ground, soaked in his own blood. Bane was standing over him menacingly, and Miranda Tate was holding what Barbara could only guess was the detonator to the bomb that would destroy Gotham City.

"If it isn't Barbara Gordon," Bane said, turning only slightly towards her, "you always had impeccable timing."

"I'd far from call this impeccable. I should have known you had Miranda Tate do this. She always did seem like the perfect candidate." Barabra retorted, stepping forward slowly, "you planned this all, didn't you."

Miranda stood there, a small smirk on her face, "you're quite smart, aren't you Barbara? But there is a lot more to the story than you realize. In fact, I do say my love and I are the reason you became who you are today."

Barbara looked at them, confusion on her face, "what are you talking about?"

"Abigail Young was such an innocent soul, wasn't she?" Miranda said, playing with the remote in her hand, "a brilliant young girl with such a bright future."

Barbara's eyes widened at the mention of her late best friend, the confusion mounting in her mind. Miranda looked like she could laugh at any moment.

"The Latin district is anything but dangerous. What are the chances you would find someone that would kill you? I knew that with the proper push you would be able to become who you are today, and just look where we are now?"

The red head breathed in slowly, her head spinning. Miranda Tate had done it all. She was the reason Abby and Helena were dead, the reason Gotham had fallen, and the reason millions of people may lose their lives in the next few minutes. Miranda gave one last laugh, giving Bane final instructions about the situation, and left out the front door. Barbara breathed in and looked around the room, finding a discarded hand gun on the ground. Picking it up, she quickly ran to the front door and shot. The bullet struck the figure of a newly conscious Barsad, who fell on the ground next to the tank that Miranda climbed into.

Turning back, she ran quickly and struck Bane on the side on the face with the end of the gun. It was obvious that his mask was quite damaged, as the hit had dislodged a few extra tubes. Bane yelled in anger and pain, stumbling back from Bruce. She raised the gun and fired several shots that had hit the large man in several areas in the chest, but there was no change. Bane was furious.

With a quick gesture Barbara was flat on her back, bleeding out of her nose. Bane was standing over her, a foot raised to her face, ready to kill, "it has been a pleasure, as always Ms. Gordon."

In mere moments Barbara thoughts of death was replaced with a large bang. Sitting up quickly, Barbara looked around to see Bane's large form laying motionless on the ground, and Catwoman standing up next to the motorcycle she had been given earlier to blow up the tunnel out of Gotham.

"About the whole no guns thing…" she said, pulling up the goggles she was wearing, "don't know if I feel as strongly about it as you do."

Barbara sat up, wiping the blood away from her mouth. The metallic taste was not one that she could say she particularly enjoyed. Catwoman put out her hand and helped Barbara up.

"Selena Kyle, big fan." She said, smirking. Barbara laughed, and brushed some of the dirt off her clothes.

"Barbara Gordon, completely unaware."

* * *

"Barbara, you take the motorcycle and follow my lead," Bruce explained, climbing into the Bat, "you're father is in the truck with the bomb, so you're going to have to keep your eyes out for him."

"I'll do my best." Barbara nodded, sitting on the motorcycle. Although she had never ridden one before, this would be one of the less crazy things she had done over the past few months.

She waited as the Bat began rising then began to follow it through the streets of Gotham. It did not take long before they were able to find Miranda, as she left a trail of carnage behind her. Barbara tried to keep close to the truck that he father was in, but struggled to keep away from the bullets that were being shot at her. Breathing was the hardest thing to do right now, because she feared that a single wrong move and she would be dead. Looking ahead, Barbara noticed Miranda climbing into the front seat and pushing the driver away. The Bat was nowhere to be seen.

However, Barbara did not stop. She continued to follow, trying to catch up to the drivers door. Within seconds the sound of the Bat once again filled her ears, and the truck suddenly went out of control, flying off the edge on the street into the underground roads, and Barbara was right behind them.

Although the fall was far from fatal, she would not be surprised in her whole left arm was broken. Standing up slowly, Barbara tried to make sure nothing else was broken. Suddenly a bang came from the truck in front of her. Out of the back came Commissioner Gordon, looking quite shaken up.

"Oh my god dad, are you alright?" Barbara asked, limping forward. He nodded and quickly bringing her into a hug.

"Are you alright?" He said, not letting go. She nodded, and kissing him on the cheek, "where is Helena?"

Barbara let go of Jim and looked to the ground. No words were needed for him to understand what had happened. He simply shook his head and prayed that she would be alright. "We can get a cable on the bomb, help me out."

Barbara agreed and ran over to the truck. Looking in the driver's seat, Miranda Tate was laying, grievously injured.

"Fox showed me how to override the reactor," she mumbled, out of breath, "including the emergency flood. There is no way this bomb will be stopped. Prepare yourselves. My father's work is done."

Barbara watched as the young woman took her last breaths, dying. Bruce ran off towards the Bat, pulling out a cable and attaching it to the bomb.

"What are you doing?" Barbara asked, walking over.

"I can get it out over the bay," he growled, putting the cable on.

"So you'll go over the water then eject?" Selena provided, standing next to Barbara.

"No auto pilot."

Selena followed Bruce to the plane and gave him a few stern words that Barbara nor Jim could hear. The conversation ended with a kiss that made Barbara remember about John and how much she wanted to see him.

As Bruce climbed into the Bat, Barbara and her father walked over, standing next to it.

"You did a great job, Batgirl. I would be more than proud to say you would be an excellent replacement."

Barbara smiled somberly, and nodded, taking of Helena's mask at last. Jim walked up and stared at Batman.

"I never cared who you were." Gordon said, looking at Batman.

"You are right." He replied, turning on the engine.

"But should the people know who saved their lives?"

"A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders and letting him know the world hadn't ended."

The top closed over the Bat, and Gordon continued staring with a look of recognition on his face, "Bruce Wayne?"

As the Bat began to rise up into the air a sudden feeling began to rise. Running up the ramp to get to the surface, she could feel the last of the adrenaline rushing through her veins. The others were close behind her, and followed her as she ran as fast as she could to the edge of the island, where you could see the bomb and the Bat flying off into the distance. Within mere moments the whole thing was a ball of fire. Gotham was saved.

At last, Barbara cried for everything she had lost. Keith, Abby, Helena, Bruce, and the life she had once known, and she would never know again.

**A/N: One more chapter. I think I'm going to cry.**


	18. Everything Ends

**My dearest readers, this is it. That last chapter. I can't believe I have made it this far, and I have you all to thank. I have never been able to finish a full length fan fiction before, and to be honest, I didn't even think I'd be able to finish this one. You all motivated me when I wasn't updating, and you pushed me when I needed it. This chapter is to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed or even just has this on their bookmark bar waiting for updates. You're all the reason I did this.**

**Now on to the last chapter.**

_Everything has an end_

_Even the lives of family and friends_

_Everything has an end_

_Even when it doesn't make sense_

_You can't hold on to what's gone_

_Don't try to fix it just move on_

_Only then, you'll see the world all brand new_

Everything Ends, _AVPSY_

Everything Ends

Barbara stood outside her new apartment, desperately trying to show the movers where all of her furniture needed to go. John was talking on his cell phone to the new commissioner, who's name was Michael Akins. Barbara's father had retired from his job as commissioner to once again work with the major crimes unit in working to recapture all the criminals who had escaped during Bane's occupation of Gotham.

"Hey John, I'm gonna go back to the old place and make sure there was nothing left behind." Barbara said, looking at John. He nodded and continued talking. Barbara rolled her eyes sarcastically and walked down the stairs to the bottom floor.

The new building was a lot nicer than her old one, but still quote affordable. Ever since Gotham had been saved nearly a month earlier, real estate had gone down drastically. Although it would probably pick up within the next couple of years, this was the perfect time to find a place to live.

Getting in the car that she and John shared, she started the engine and began making her way to the old apartment. The streets were still quite empty, people had not quite gotten used to the idea of their freedom. Barbara drove down the partially empty streets, watching as people carried on their day to day lives. Some still looked extremely exhausted, and some looking like nothing had ever happened. The voice on the radio spoke of a charity event being held in remembrance of all those who had died, and told the daily list of people who were still missing. Sometimes, Barbara was glad she had retired Batgirl.

Pulling up to the building, Barbara parked her car, and got out of the driver's seat, trying not to slip on the melting ice. Several people were going into her old building with boxes and furniture, and some with smiling faces. Although many of the people who once lived there had long since left, there were many new tenants ready to live new lives.

"Hey there Barbara," Her old land lord Jenny greeted as she walked through the front entrance, "I think the last of your movers just left. I just locked up the place."

"I was just checking to see if there was anything left over." Barbara said, pushing her hair up out of her face.

"Nothing in the apartment, but you do have a letter. I'll go get it for you." Jenny walked over to Barbara's old mail box and opened it up, grabbing an envelope. Handing it over, Jenny said farewell and left Barbara to herself. She looked at the letter to see if there was any indication on who it was, but there was nothing. She ripped it open, curious of who it could be from. Inside there were two letters stapled together. The first read:

_Dear Barbara,_

_I have left Gotham for good, and I know we may never meet again. You are the bravest person I have ever met, and I hope that maybe we will find our paths crossing._

_I went to go find you, that day. You were long gone by the time I got to the fight, but I had found Helena. I carried her all the way back to base, and we held a small prayer for her. Inside her gear I had found a letter addressed to you. I hope it can bring you a little bit of closure._

_All the best in your future endeavors, _

_Pam _

Barbara smiled sadly at the letter that Pamela had left for her, wishing that she had come to say goodbye before she had left. Turning the page, she breathed in harshly at the sight of Helena's messy handwriting:

_Barbara,_

_If you're reading this I'm either seriously injured, or I have died. Either way I do not regret any of my actions. What I have done with you over these past few months have been so spectacular and eye opening that I have nothing left to look forward to. Everything you have done for me has changed the way that I am._

_I know you're probably sad, because that's just the way that you are. You are someone who cares deeply for everyone, no matter how well you know them, or even if you know them at all. I want you to know that whatever had happened, it was not your fault. I became a vigilante knowing the dangers that could arise, and I am not afraid of them. Whatever happened to me, I want you to move on, and be a better person because of what happened._

_Please, marry John, start a family, and never forget what happened,_

_Helena Bertinelli _

Barbara could feel a tear rolling down her cheek. It seemed like she never stopped crying these days, but these tears were different. They were tears of happiness. She knew that wherever Helena was, she was much happier.

That made her feel even better.

* * *

"So Mr. Fox, I hear you have inherited Wayne Enterprises." Barbara said, sitting across from Lucius' new desk.

"Indeed Ms. Gordon," Lucius said, sitting down with a file, "it seems Mr. Wayne had many ideas about what he wanted with the future of his company."

"That doesn't surprise me," she smiled, "he seemed like the kind of guy who always had a plan."

"He usually did, which is why I find this quite peculiar. He seemed to have left this note for you, with coordinates. Nothing more, or less."

Barbara slowly took the note for him, and looked at it. The numbers had no significance to her, and she had no idea where they could lead. Looking up, she gave Lucius a confused look.

"You're guess is as good as mine." He shrugged.

**6 months later**

John and Barbara sat at the kitchen table, filling out wedding invitations while listening to the radio. A special interview was being conducted with Alfred Pennyworth about the new boys home being opened up in Wayne Manor.

"He needs an invitation too," Barbara said, writing down the older man's name.

"Are we inviting your aunt and cousins?" John asked, pausing for an answer.

"You mean mom and my siblings? Of course. They're family." She said, smiling.

John looked at her and smiled softly, "I'm glad you're calling her mom now. Ever since that full adoption went through you two have been so good to each other. Especially with her and Sarah living in Gotham again."

"I had an epiphany I guess. I think almost dying several times will do that to a person."

John laughed and put down the address to her mother on the envelope. The two have been trying to construct a guest list for several days, adding more people than they wanted to. Barbara crossed her legs on the chair she was sitting on and began playing with the diamond ring on her finger.

"John, do you want to go find where those coordinates lead to? I've been wondering for months." She said suddenly.

John looked at her a thought or a minute. Did he really want to go? Maybe they didn't lead to anything. Maybe it was just to an old piece of equipment or one of his old cars. "I guess we can this weekend. Ever since getting that new job at Wayne Enterprises I've always had weekends off."

Barbara nodded and went back to writing down names on the list, trying to hide the excitement that was painted on her face.

* * *

"The wedding is coming up soon," Selena Kyle said as the two woman sat at a café downtown, "do you have everything done?"

Barbara shrugged, "I still need to figure out floral patterns and catering. But other than that I think it's all done."

"That's good. I'll make sure I'm here for it." The dark haired woman said, taking a drink of her iced coffee. It was late July, and the summer months were harsh. Selena and Barbara would often get together for coffee ever since the bounty had been lifted off her head.

"Where are you going this time?" Barbara joked, taking a finger full of whipped cream off the top of her drink.

"Italy. A little shopping and wine never hurt anyone."

Barbara laughed and took a sip of her drinking, sighing as it cooled down her throat. The two remained silent for a few more moments before Selena spoke again,

"He sends best wishes your way. I think he is also sending a gift."

"Maybe he should come home. Alfred is still in grief."

"He doesn't want to be responsible for anything else that may happen. Maybe you should go visit him sometime. He speaks about you a lot."

"If he speaks so much, maybe he could send a letter every once in a while." Barbara snapped, almost knocking over her drink.

"He said to find the note. What does that mean?"

Barbara looked at Selena for a moment before she understood. Her eyes widened in realization and she grabbed her bag and drink and quickly got up, "I have to go. It's been nice talking. Have a safe trip."

* * *

John read the GPS with little difficulty as the two walked through the trees and bushes in the small wooded area. Barbara was following swiftly behind, trying to make sure there was no one following them.

"A waterfall?" She asked, looking up at where John had stopped, "did he leave us a nature park or something?"

John shook his head, and set up a grappling hook at a high up rock, "I'll swing first, then you can go."

Barbara stared at his like he was stupid, but did nothing to stop him. She was just glad she left her phone at home that day. John swung in first like he said, and a few moments later the rope flew out and Barbara grabbed it, swinging in right behind.

The area was massive, and wet. Barbara and John walked through, hands held tight. Barbara kicked a rock and a large swarm of bats came flying down towards them, but she wasn't scared. The two were standing up, feeling the wings slap against their arms. Another step and they felt the ground move. A platform was bringing them upwards, and gadgets were coming out of the walls and ground.

"Well," John said, smiling at Barbara, "looks like we're coming out of retirement."


	19. Authors Note

**A/N: Hello once again, wonderful readers. I am here to inform you that the sequel to Define Justice has been put up, and you can find it on my profile, titled Define Freedom. Thank again for reading my stories, and I hope you all have an amazing day. **

**xTDC**


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